


The Transfer Student

by J_P_Lupine



Category: Ouran High School Host Club - All Media Types
Genre: A pinch of jealousy, Beauty and the Beast Elements, Childhood Friends, Denial of Feelings, Don't copy to another site, Fighting, Friends to Lovers, Host Clubs, LGBTQ Character, M/M, Slow Burn, Smart but Dense, Supernatural Elements, Trans Male Character, Weapons
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-14
Updated: 2020-12-26
Packaged: 2021-03-11 02:55:32
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 14
Words: 32,881
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28078059
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/J_P_Lupine/pseuds/J_P_Lupine
Summary: Sin Nashi is a rather blunt young man that stumbles upon the Host Club and finds himself stuck there when he finds out Haruhi's 'secret'.  Sin also has a few secrets of his own that he's trying to keep hidden, and it's not the fact that he can't flirt worth a damn.A/N: This is one of the old fics from my heavy anime years and I thought I'd post it for the Hell of it.(Published Date: Dec 14, 2020)
Relationships: Morinozuka Takashi/Original Male Character(s)
Kudos: 33





	1. From Stranger to Dog to Host

Walking around the school, I was trying to find a quiet place to read. To my dismay, all of the library rooms were full of people that were intolerably loud.

Sighing, I began to climb the stairs to find any room with silence. Listening as I climbed the stairs, I went from hall to hall looking for quiet. With one hand in my pocket and the other holding my book, I raised my head. It seemed there was an unused room at the end of the hall. Good.

Pulling my hand from my pocket, I pushed the thick glasses further up my nose. I didn't really need them, but my colored contacts had yet to come in yet and my natural eye color had a tendency to freak people out.

Reaching out my hand, I grabbed the door handle while glancing up. I saw that the sign for the room read Music Room 3. It was strange for a music room to not be in use, but I wasn't going to be picky. _'I guess this room will work for now....'_ Opening the door, a strange wind came carrying a flurry of rose petals. 'What the Hell?' I thought.

Pulling the petals out from my hair, I looked up to see what had caused the strange flower wind.

"Welcome!" I heard a chorus of voices.

"Oh, it's just a boy...." A set of twins sounded displeased.

"Ah! Aren't you the transfer student?" A small boy said. He looked fairly young to be wearing a high school uniform, especially with the stuffed, pink rabbit in his arms.

"Y-Yeah...." I replied.

"Welcome to the Ouran Host Club, transfer student." A dark-haired boy with glasses smiled while his arms were crossed.

"Host Club....?" I mumbled. _'What kind of school is this?'_

"Transfer student?" The blond with blue eyes said excitedly. "What school did you come from?!" Behind my back, I was trying to open the door to make a smooth get-away but it wouldn't budge. _'I just wanted a quiet place to read!'_ "Welcome to our world of beauty, transfer student!" He threw his arms into the air.

"Excuse me...." I turned around now, trying to open the door frantically.

"Hey!" A young voice said as two tiny hands wrapped around my arm. "What was the other school like?" He asked with big blue eyes while dragging me away from the door. He had surprising strength for a person his size....

"Uh, I was homeschooled...." His eyes went bigger.

"Cool!" He grinned.

"Still, to think the new transfer student would be gay...." The taller blonde was shaking his head while holding his chin.

"Huh?" I looked at him.

"What is your preference?" He smiled at me while pointing towards the pink ceiling. I raised a brow. "The wild type?" He asked while pointing to the tallest boy in the room. "The boy Lolita type?" Then the kid holding me was pointed at. "The little devil type?" The twins posed together, looking sort of like a mirrored image. "The cool type?" Glasses was pointed at.

"Y-you have the wrong idea, I'm not here for that!" I said while stepping back. "I was just looking for a quiet place to read-"

"Or maybe...." And the blue-eyed boy was suddenly too close for comfort. "....you'd like to try me? How about it?" He had a hand on the back of my neck and his other hand under my chin.

"Back off!" I said while pushing him away and stepping back.

"Ah!" Someone was behind me and me stepping back had knocked them off balance. I heard a few of the boys take in a sharp breath as the tall blond shouted with surprise.

"Haruhi!" Quickly turning around, I caught the person before they fell to the hard floor. I saw a tray fly out of their hands. Carefully, I caught the tray and swiftly began to collect what had been on it as they fell from the air. When the tea set had settled on the tray, I sighed while looking down at the person I caught.

"Are you...." My brows furrowed as I looked at the short brown hair and the big brown eyes. "....a girl?" I questioned while looking at the male uniform they were wearing.

"Oh, you can tell?" She tilted her head as I helped her to stand up all the way. "Nice reflexes by the way."

"The school is actually letting you wear the male uniform?" I questioned since I myself had struggled to get the male uniform.

"What will it be, Tamaki?" The boy in glasses asked. "This student knows Haruhi's secret."

"Secret? What?" I turned around, still holding the tray.

"Have you ever heard this saying, transfer kid?"

"Nashi." I said.

"Nashi?" He repeated. "'When in Rome, do as the Romans do!'" He pointed at me while smiling. "To make sure you do not tell anyone of Haruhi's true gender, starting today, you are the Host Club's new dog!"

"What....?" I could hear dogs barking in my head.

"There's no need for that." Haruhi said while stepping up next to me. "You won't tell, will you?"

"Why would I? It's none of my business...." I looked down. "Besides, who would I tell?"

"No, there is a need for that!" Tamaki was still pointing at me. "He could always have a slip of the tongue- we have to always remind him!"

~

A little later, I came back after being sent out to buy Instant Coffee from a commoner's market. Not that I minded, I actually sort of enjoyed it. The Commoner's market was different from what I was used to, refreshing even.

The room was full of girls now, though, and they seemed to be enjoying themselves as they gathered around the boys and Haruhi.

"Thanks for shopping for us, koinu." Tamaki winked. "Did you get everything bought all right?"

"Little dog....?" I sweatdropped while standing there and holding the paper bag.

"Thank you, Nashi." Haruhi smiled. "I'm surprised you found everything okay."

"I'm a fast learner." I said as she took the bag from me, but it was also due to the fact that there were signs over the aisles.

"Hey, Tamaki, is that another commoner?" A girl questioned.

"No, that's the transfer student, Nashi." The girl made a face.

"Then why is he wearing commoner's clothes?" I glanced down at myself. Sure, my baggy pants and oversized hoodie weren't the best of choices to wear to a private school but it was either this or wear that stupid yellow dress because the school administration had a very strict view on the gender binary.

Walking around, I had to pass out tea and coffee to the girls in the room. It apparently was something else I didn't seem to mind doing, it gave me something to waste my time with.

"Is that boy really a 3rd-Year?" I mumbled while watching the tall boy bring in the sleepy-eyed blond with a bunny.

"Honey is a prodigy despite his appearance." The glasses-wearing boy stated while standing next to me. "And Mori's draw is his silent disposition."

"Huh...." I mumbled.

"Na~shi!" Honey jumped up while grabbing onto one of my arms and swinging around. "Nashi, want to have some cake with me?" The boy asked when his feet were back on the ground.

"No, I have to pass out these drinks. Maybe some other time?" I suggested while feeling a bit dizzy. He looked at me closely and held the rabbit I had heard him call Usa-chan.

"We'll have cake when you're done!" He said happily while bouncing off and jumping onto a couch.

"Our club's policy is to utilize everyone's individual characteristics to respond to the needs of our guests." Glasses continued. "By the way, around here, Tamaki is number one, the king. His request rate is 70%." I glanced over to the tall blond surrounded by girls.

"What is the world coming to?"

"That's what Haruhi said before." He smiled. "By the way, with you having to keep Haruhi's secret, you'll probably be the club's dog until you graduate- Oh, pardon me! Errand boy." He smiled with closed eyes and I narrowed mine at him. Not that he could see it with how thick my glasses were, though. "You're free to run away, but my family employs an able private police force of roughly 100." He pushed up his glasses. "Do you have a passport?"

"Huh....?" _'That means I wouldn't be able to stay in Japan if I did run.'_

"Yeah, be sure to work hard, Nashi." Tamaki said while leaning in close to me.

"You're invading my personal space." I said while stepping away from him.

"You're not going to get any girls as disheveled as you look." He said while putting his hands into his pockets.

"I'm not interested in getting any in the first place." I said honestly.

"What are you talking about? This is important." He pulled a rose from nowhere while placing a hand over his heart. "Becoming a fine man, and pleasing the ladies, is everything." He smiled.

"Like I said, I'm not interested. Not like it matters, anyway." Tamaki paused while looking at me. "What's important as a person is what's on the inside, right?" I asked while glancing down at the tray in my hands. _'I remember when Father would always tell me that....'_ "Can't even understand how a club like this came into existence, anyhow...." Trailing off, I raised my head.

"You sound a lot like Haruhi on her first day here." He smiled. "But think hard about it." Then he was off in his own little world. "Why do they put museum pieces in museums? Yes, it is the duty of those who were born beautiful to show off beautiful things." 'What is with this guy?' I thought while debating just running. "Which is the reason why I started this club, for the sake of those who are starved for beauty, and work unsparingly day and night, in pursuit of beauty." _'Oh, what is it you call people like him?'_

"With your looks, they may be needless skills, but as long as I have the opportunity, I shall share a portion of my magnificent expertise with you." Furrowing my brows, I closed my eyes to think. _'Let's see....'_ I searched my brain for the word as Tamaki continued on. _'Hmm....'_ "....is how effective looking up at an angle is." His voice was suddenly beside me. "Did I strike a chord?" He asked.

"Obnoxious!" I said while remembering the word. Then, the boy was black and white while sulking in the corner. "Um....Tamaki?" I heard laughing as the twins came up and rested their hands on my head.

"That's what Haruhi said, too!"

"Sorry, it did strike a small chord in me." Maybe just saying that will make him stop sulking.

"I see, I see! Then allow me to share yet another skill with you!" He immediately recovered.

"That was fast...." I mumbled.

"Sir...." One twin droned.

"Call me 'King'!"

"You can teach the basics of hosting as much as you want...." "....but in his case, he hasn't even passed the first, most basic visual test." The other twin continued where the first left off. "Now, with someone of his type, even if you take off his glasses," A twin grabbed my glasses. "his looks don't improve...."

"Hey!" My hands tightened on the tray in my hands. _'How can I get him to stop?!'_ My mind screamed as I felt him pulling my glasses off. "Stop tha-" I was cut off by him completely taking off my frames and staring at me. The other twin joined in the staring. "G-Give those back!" There was a rumbling and the twins were pushed out of the way. Now, Tamaki was staring.

"Hikaru! Kaoru!" He snapped his fingers.

"Yes, sir!" They saluted as Tamaki took the tray of drinks from my hands. Then, the twins were grabbing my wrists while dragging me off.

"Hey!" I shouted. 'How were they not freaked out by my eyes?' My mind mumbled. _'No one but my parents had ever not cared that they were different....'_

"Here! Change into this!" The twins were holding up a uniform after closing a curtain behind themselves.

"What? Why?"

"Don't ask questions!" And they jumped me while trying to get me into the uniform.

"No way!" They kept trying. "All right, I'll change, but you two have to get out!" I said while kicking them off of me. Sighing, I looked at the clothes on the hanger. With reluctance, I switched into the Ouran Academy uniform for the male students. "Um, guys...." I said when I was done.

"Oh, are you finished changing?" Tamaki asked from beyond the curtain.

"Anyone want to tell me why I have to wear this uniform?" I asked while opening the curtain.

"How adorable!" Tamaki was crying while holding his face. "You actually look so cute!" He gushed.

"Nashi, how cute!" My eyebrow twitched since I didn't like being called 'cute' and they were all starting to.

"If that's how you really look...." "....You should have said so sooner."

"Might even be able to draw some customers like that." They all were looking at me. Fixing the tie, I felt like rolling my eyes at them.

"Yes! It is all as I figured!" Tamaki said. "The errand boy has graduated!" He shouted while pointing at me.

"This feels like deja-vu for some reason." Haruhi said while shaking her head.

"Starting today, you are an official member of the Host Club!" ' _Great....'_ I mentally grumbled. "I will train you to be a first-rate host."

"Host....?"

~

"Nashi.... Nashi, what hobbies do you have?" A first-year girl asked me.

"Do you do anything special to your eyes?" Another one asked.

"They're so odd!" A third added. _'I-I don't think I can do this....'_ I thought as the girls were staring at me. _'I have no idea what to do....'_

"Nashi, why did you join the Host Club?" All three asked at once. _'What do I say? I can't tell I found out Haruhi's secret...._ ' An image of Kyouya popped into my head from when he was mentioning his family's police force. _'Maybe I can just make up a story?'_

"Well," I started off. "I like the scent of sweet things...." Looking at them, I wondered if what I was about to do would work. "and all of you ladies smell quite delicious." I said while smirking and flashing my abnormally sharp teeth. They froze, their cheeks turning red just before they squealed.

"Um...." One was blushing while looking at me. "Tomorrow, could we...." Another one was fidgeting in her chair. "....request you once again?" _'....What....?'_ I mentally blanked.

"Of course you can, my sweet, little lambs." I smirked again, and they squealed once more. 'Are they really like this? Surely people don't squeal like this.'

"Nashi," Tamaki snapped his fingers while catching my attention. "come here for a minute." I rose from my seat and walked over.

"Yes?"

"Say hello. This is Orihime, a guest of mine. She was just asking about you." He said while waving a hand towards the girl sitting beside him.

"It's a pleasure to meet you." I smiled at her, I didn't want to do anything wrong in case Kyouya would sick his police task force on me.

"That was so cute, Nashi!" Tamaki grabbed me while spinning me around. "That air of bashfulness was good, good, very good!" He was smothering my face into his chest while making me dizzy. Trying to get away, I managed to squirm around but Tamaki was still holding onto me. "I'm not letting you go!" Looking around for help from this crazed idiot, I looked for the biggest guy to pry the blond off.

"M-Mori! Help!" I said while struggling in Tamaki's grasp while trying to not hurt him. The dark-haired boy made a face just before I was suddenly lifted from the blond's grasp.

"Ah...." Mori was staring straight at me as he held me a few feet off the ground.

"Mori, you didn't have to go that far." Tamaki said while still shocked. "Come on, come back next to Daddy's heart!"

"Daddy?" I said while looking down at him. "I'm older than you are!"

"What?"

"Oh, did I forget to mention? He's a 3rd year." Kyouya smirked while pushing up his glasses.

"Mori, you can put me down now." I mumbled since he had yet to let me go.

"Right...." His calm voice said as he gently let my feet back onto the ground.


	2. Dance Party

Almost a week later, I got to the Host Club and the music room looked like the southern tropics. Everyone was already here, dressed to fit the occasion- except Haruhi for obvious reasons.

"Oh, it's you, Sin. You're late." The twins said. "Looks like Haruhi wasn't the only one."

"Huddling under a kotatsu table, fearing the cold would be nonsense." Tamaki chuckled as Mori was running around with Honey on his shoulders. "Why else do we have this perfect heating and cooling system?"

"Do you have some sort of criticism of our club's policies? Sin, you still have to keep Haruhi's secret." Kyouya was writing something down in the file he always carried with him.

"Fine men do not bundle up in bulky clothing. It may be chilling early spring out in the world, but in our club, we welcome our chilly little kittens to a warm, south tropical aura!" Tamaki went on. "Yes!" He grabbed me while Haruhi was face-palming. She must have gotten the same speech.... "Today, this place is a supreme paradise, a hot, hot island of everlasting summer!" He shouted.

"Yeah....sure, whatever." I nervously sweat.

"Now, here is your outfit! Go, get changed before the girls come." He ushered me towards the prep room.

"Tamaki?" I said with a frown.

"Yes?" He was smiling like an idiot.

"I can change clothes on my own." I said while pushing him back and going into the room myself. Grumbling, I switched into the heap of clothing Tamaki had given me. Sighing, I walked out and was greeted with my face smothered into Tanaki's chest.

"It's perfect!" He said while shaking me. "Kyouya was right to make your's different from the others, you look so cute!" My eyebrow twitched at the word as I shoved Tamaki off me.

"I need to breathe too, you know!" I said. "And I wouldn't dare wear what the others are wearing." He paused while looking at me.

"Why, do you not like them?"

"Uh, Tamaki, they're practically half-naked...."

"And?" He looked so confused.

"Tamaki, don't tell us you still don't know...." One twin said. "....that Sin is trans." The other twin finished. The color seemed to drain from Tamaki's face as he took a step back.

"What?"

"I'm trans. I've been cursed with boobs." I popped off, but for the others to know meant Kyoya had gone into my school file.

"Waah! Mommy! I've been left out again!" Tamaki cried to Kyouya. I rolled my eyes at him, but he was too busy bawling to notice. He didn't calm down until the guests began to arrive. "Oh yes, next week, Ouran Host Club will be sponsoring a dance party." I overheard Tamaki telling a few girls.

"Dance party?" I mumbled while glancing up from my spot.

"What will you be doing at this dance party?"

"We're renting the large hall in the central building...." "....And throwing a big main event there." The twins explained to the girls at their table.

"Although, I really wanted to spend the time alone with you, Kaoru." Hikaru said while grabbing his brother. I never really understood why the chicks were so into their twincest stuff.

"Nashi," A girl at my table spoke softly.

"Please, call me Sin, my sweet lamb." I smirked while looking at her. Her face went red as she began to fidget.

"S-Sin...." She said.

"Yes?" I rested my cheek in my hand while looking at her.

"Are you going to be at the dance party next week?" My eyes wandered to Kyouya, who gave a sharp nod while pushing up his glasses. Nervously sweating, I answered.

"Yes."

When everyone was planning the dance party, I was sitting on one of the window sills while looking out at the scenery below. The sun was setting, and the birds in the nearby tree were calmly sitting on the branch. _'I guess this place isn't so bad....'_ I thought. _'Hey, maybe even a bit of fun.'_ I chuckled while remembering the large snakes and lizards from when the Host Club was set up like the southern tropics.

_'Oh, it's actually quite warm here....'_ I thought while feeling myself beginning to drift off. _'I wonder what's for dinner tonight....'_

The next day, Haruhi was getting dancing lessons from Kasugazaki while Mori and Honey were spinning around in the background. I, on the other hand, calmly sat on the windowsill and watched with little interest.

"The Ouran Host Club exists to bring happiness to the girls!" Tamaki's shouting brought me out of my head. Raising a brow, I listened as he came up with a plan.

On the night of the dance party, the Host Club made me stand on a set of stairs.

"My little lambs who have gathered here tonight," Tamaki's voice broke through the darkness of the hall. "Ouran Host Club bids you a fond welcome...." A spotlight shined down on Tamaki. "....to this dance party." He gave a bow as the lights turned on and the music began to play. The girls were giggling and clapping as they saw all of us bowing on the stairs.

"We invite you to enjoy yourselves to your heart's content as you dance with the Host Club members." Kyouya said. "In addition, the guest who is recognized as the best dancer, and is chosen as tonight's queen will receive an impassioned kiss on the cheek from the king."

"Good luck to you, baby." Tamaki added, making the girls squeal.

"Haruhi, Sin, your enthusiasm is low." The twins came up beside us.

"I'm not used to this sort of thing." Haruhi replied. "The only dance party I've ever been to is the bon-odori festival at the neighborhood park."

"You probably can't call that a dance party." Kyouya said.

"And what's your excuse, Sin?"

"I'd rather be at home eating dinner than here while wearing this uncomfortable suit." I grumbled while fixing the black tie.

"Well, you're both here anyway, so why don't you two at least try the cuisine?" Kyouya was writing in his file. "There's a real spread."

"A spread?" Haruhi seemed to perk up. "L-Like with fancy tuna?" She asked with pink cheeks. Everyone froze and Kyouya broke his pencil. The twins grabbed Haruhi as her face went red with embarrassment.

"Fancy tuna?" Tamaki jumped down while pointing to Kyouya who was pulling out his phone. "Get some fancy tuna here, stat!"

"You poor thing.... Oh, you poor thing...." The twins kept saying as they teared up and were rubbing their cheeks on Haruhi. Smirking, I thought it was funny how they all reacted to Haruhi.

"Oh, I forgot to ask!" I mumbled while looking up at Kyouya, but he was still busy on the phone. _'But I need to ask where the food is....'_ Looking around, I sighed. _'I'll just ask someone else.'_ "Hey, Honey?" Calling to the short boy on Mori's shoulders, he looked down at me.

"What is it, Sin?" He asked with big eyes.

"Can you see where the food is at from up there?" I asked, and he smiled while looking out over the crowd.

"Over there." He pointed while giggling.

"Thanks." Giving a two-fingered salute, I walked off in the direction he had pointed. I didn't even make it to the tables before girls were asking me to dance with them. By the time Haruhi had to go back and get changed to carry out Tamaki's plan, I had yet to reach the food tables. While the others were getting Haruhi ready, it was my job to stay in the hall and make sure the girls didn't notice the absence of the other Host Club members.

"Sin, can you dance with me?" A short-haired girl asked. I put a hand over my heart and bowed.

"Of course, I can. This beast will always make time for his beauty." I gave a devilish smirk, which seemed to make her knees go a bit weak. 'How the Hell am I actually doing this successfully? I can't flirt for the life of me any other time.' I thought while standing up all the way and taking her hand. 'Well....none of them seem to notice my lack of experience at least.'

Dancing with her, she wouldn't stop staring at me and I pretended not to notice. Many other girls also asked me to dance, and I had to accept their offers while silently crying for the food tables.

"Sin, your hair is so long and pretty." The girl I was now dancing with smiled as she put a hand on my ponytail.

"Thank you." I smiled while wondering what the Hell I was supposed to do or say.

"Ah, it's so soft, too!"

"Oh, what kind words from the mouth of a sweet lamb. Be careful, or I just might gobble you up." I smirked while flashing my sharp teeth, and her face went red as I dipped her. Well, shit, if this schtick was working I was going to milk it for all it was worth.

Finally, when everyone got back, It was time for the last phase of the plan.

"And now, ladies and gentlemen, this enjoyable evening of ours has, at last, come to a final song." Tamaki's voice filled the air as everyone headed outside. "The Host Club's last waltz falls upon this couple." I stood by the twins, still upset I still hadn't made it to the food.

Flower petals from the trees were raining down as the lone couple began to dance while everyone watched. Out the corner of my eye, though, I saw the twins eating bananas, and my stomach growled.

"May this awkward couple be blessed!" Tamaki almost hit Haruhi with his arms when he swung them out.

"Tonight's dance queen...." "....is hereby declared to be Princess Kasugazaki Kanako." "Now then, the blessed kiss from the king...." "....has been switched to Fujioka, Haruhi!" The twins announced. My stomach growled again, and I put a hand on it while sighing. _'Maybe I could sneak back in and make it to the table and back before anyone notices?'_ I thought while looking around.

"Sin...." A calm voice said from above me. Looking up, I saw Mori holding a small plate of food out towards me.

"Oh, thanks, Takashi!" I smiled while taking the plate. There were various sweets on the plate, and I happily ate them while going into my own little world.


	3. Physical Exam

During the Ouran Host Club's flower viewing reception, I sat with my back leaned against one of the blossoming trees. I sighed while looking up, wishing I had a book to read at that moment. I did try to bring one, but Tamaki said I couldn't because it went against my 'type'....whatever that meant.

Sighing again, I pushed my long bangs back. ' _Why do I have to spend my time in this club?'_ I thought before sighing. _'Because I Kyouya is a fiend.'_

A slight breeze blew, sending a cascade of flower petals raining down. One landed on my nose, and I chuckled while brushing it off. Glancing over, I saw Takashi and Honey with a couple of girls. The female students' attention was on Honey, as his was also on them, but Takashi wasn't even looking at any of them. His cheeks were the faintest shade of pink as his eyes were open in a stare. What was he looking at?

Turning my head, I saw that no one was behind me, so he wasn't looking at someone else. _'Oh, he must be looking at the tree.'_ I thought. _'The flowers are quite nice....'_ Standing up, I moved so he could look at the tree without anyone in the way.

"Remember? The day after tomorrow, we have physical exams." I heard one of the twins say as I was walking.

"Physical....exams?" Haruhi questioned

"Now that you mention it, it _is_ the day after tomorrow." Everyone was looking at Haruhi.

"Then....it will get out, for sure....that I'm a girl." Haruhi said as if she didn't even care.

"And that also means I'm free from this Host Club!" I smiled while draping an arm over Haruhi's shoulders.

~

"Don't be so cynical, Hikaru. Everything is going according to plan." Tamaki was smiling while I walked in with a bag of cookies. "I could see how this would turn out from the start, without being jealous of the likes of you." He was saying and I stood with the rest of the guys, wondering what the Hell he was going on about. "Indeed!" Tamaki turned away from us. "This anime has always been a school love comedy."

"Is he nuts....?" I mumbled while eating another cookie.

"Haruhi and I are clearly necessary components of the love comedy."

"Then what are we?" The twins asked.

"Why, the necessary homo-homo supporting cast, of course." Tamaki pointed at us. "So make sure you don't come past this line." He said after drawing a line on the floor.

"Tamaki, I think I might be the only homo actually in the room." I said while holding the bag of cookies. "So it's more like a homo-hetero supporting cast." I then stepped over the line. "And you're ridiculous."

"You're gay?!"

"Sure as shit ain't straight, blondie." I popped off. "Don't get me wrong, girls are pretty, but not my jam."

"So that's why you haven't shown any real interest in the girls." Honey placed the side of his fist into his palm. I snapped my fingers before pointing at him and nodding since a cookie was in my mouth.

"On the other hand...." "....don't you understand, sir?" The twins said.

"If it gets out that Haru is a girl, she won't be able to stay in the Host Club." Honey added. "And then there'd be no reason Sin would stay."

"I don't mind." I said while popping a cookie into my mouth.

"But if Haru were to wear girls' clothes, she'd look even more cute, huh?"

"Haruhi did dress like a regular girl when she was in middle school, so she must have been popular with the boys, right?" I ate another cookie as that fact was pointed out by another host.

"Yeah. According to my investigative report, someone would declare their love to her about once a month." Kyouya read out of his file.

"Oh, then his highness wouldn't be able to get near her, huh?" "Well, we're still in the same class as her, so it would be okay." The twins grinned.

"No!" Tamaki teared up.

"Sorry I'm late." Haruhi finally came in.

"Don't you worry, Haruhi! We're going to make sure that we protect the secret that you're a girl during tomorrow's physical exams!" Tamaki grabbed her from the doorway. "So please, stay our own, exclusive princess!"

"Okay?" Haruhi said, sounding more like a question as she was uncertain why Tamaki said what he did.

"It's true, we'd be a little annoyed if Haruhi were courted by other men." "Then that settles it."

"So, does that mean I'm still free to go?" They looked at me, then at each other.

"We gotta keep Sin, too!" Honey said.

"What? Why?" I asked.

"Because if you're not a host anymore, we can't eat cake together since we're in different classes!" Honey began to tear up. "Don't you wanna eat cake with me?"

"Ah, yes! Yes!" I said, not wanting to see the boy cry.

"Yay!" He immediately cheered up. Sighing, I realized what I had gotten myself into.

"All right, squad members! Let's each reconfirm what our formation A positioning is for tomorrow's physical exams!" Tamaki was pointing to a whiteboard with a marker in his hand.

"Yes, sir!" The twins said as Honey was clapping.

"That's right." Haruhi put a fist in her palm. "If I'm found out, then I won't be able to continue as a host, and won't be able to repay my debt, huh?" She put a hand on her chin. "I still have a balance of 5,333,332 ¥. Well, I guess I'll have to come up with some other way." Haruhi laughed.

"And if you're found out, I can go back to doing what I like in my free time." I added.

"Commander, the subjects don't have any initiative for this!" I heard the twins say.

"Grr....what an uncooperative heroine and supporting cast member!" Tamaki growled. "Is that how much you two hate hosting? How much you both hate this club?" He pointed at Haruhi and I.

"Well, if I had to say, then yes, I do."

"I'm only here because of the threat of being police chow." I grumbled. Tamaki went pale, then began to sulk in a corner.

"Hey, if it gets out that I'm a girl, then there really is nothing I can do." Haruhi said with a hand behind her head and a smile. She began to laugh, and I smiled while biting into a cookie.

"What low motivation they have." "The first thing we have to fix is Haruhi's lack of determination, and then Sin's...." There was a silent pause.

"Fancy tuna." Takashi said with a hand on his chin. Haruhi stopped dead in her tracks.

"That's right. During last episode's dance party, you didn't get to eat any of it, did you?" Tamaki seemed to come back to life.

"Did you hear? She says she's never eaten any fancy tuna before." "What a bleak upbringing she's had." The twins said to each other.

"If only she could stay in the club, then she'd have any number of chances to eat delicious things from here on out." Honey told Usa-chan.

"W-what are you talking about? Just because I might be poor, I'm not so much of a glutton that I'd go on fooling everyone about what sex I am, just so I can eat fancy tuna...." Haruhi laughed nervously. "Will I really be able to eat some?" The guys cheered.

"Or....you could not care about your gender being found out." I said. "I can always get you fancy tuna myself." She looked at me.

"Really?" I nodded.

"Sin! How could you?" Honey whimpered.

"Sorry, but I'm only here because no one else knows she's a girl."

"What if...." "....we get...." The twins started out, but they paused while looking at each other. "Huh?" "What does Sin like that only we can get?" They all looked at me.

"Yeah, remember? I'm not a commoner, I can get the same things you guys can." I popped another cookie into my mouth.

"Kyouya!" Tamaki whined. "What can we use to persuade Sin?" The boy pushed up his glasses and looked at me. "Free sweets." Takashi said before Kyouya could say anything. He took the bag of cookies from me.

"Hey!"

"Wait...." "....he has been always eating...." "....snacks from our pantry." The twins smirked while I was busy reaching for the cookies.

"You really think I'm so cheap that I'd care about free snacks?" I scoffed.

"But we get commoner's snack, too." Honey said, making me freeze.

"Oh, what's this? Sin, do you like commoner's snacks?"

"Snacks are snacks, I can get them whenever I want. I don't need the Host Club to get them." I crossed my arms.

"But you don't have to use your allowance on snacks if you're coming here every day!" Honey smirked while Takashi was waving the bag of cookies in my face. They were all looking at me expectantly and I felt my cheeks go pink with embarrassment.

"Fine!" I said while snatching the bag of cookies from Takashi after he lowered his hand.

~

"We will now begin conducting physical examinations. All students, please go to the clinics in your respective school buildings." A voice said over the intercom. Rising from my desk, I put my hands into my pockets while walking out of the classroom and into the hall.

"Sin!" Honey's voice came barreling towards me before the little guy clung to me.

"Hey, Honey." I said while smiling at the bright boy.

"Come on, we gotta go get Haruhi!" He jumped down and drug me by my hand towards Haruhi's class building. Before we got in, though, Takashi and Honey dressed up as doctors.

So, standing next to the both painfully obvious Takashi and Honey, I had my face in one of my hands as Haruhi walked past. The two boys put a finger over their lips and told Haruhi to 'Shhh' before Kyouya showed up.

"Come on, Sin, we gotta get Haru!" Honey whispered to me. I nodded while lazily following the two boys dressed as doctors. But in the crowd of girls squealing and fawning over Hikaru and Kaoru, I lost sight of them.

"Huh?" I blinked. _'Where did they go?'_ I looked around for them. "How does one lose a guy as big as Mori? Honey, I understand, but both Honey and Mori?!" I grumbled to myself. Then, there was a hand gently placed on my shoulder.

"There you are, Sin. I've set up a special boys' clinic in a separate room for you and Haruhi, where I have a doctor sworn to secrecy standing by." Turning around, I saw Kyouya smiling down at me.

"Oh, okay." Nodding, I waited for him to go get Haruhi. When Haruhi came out of the curtained off area where she was going to be examined, I waved her over.

"Hello, Sin." She said calmly.

"Hello." I answered. "Come on, let's get this exam over with, okay?" I put my hands into my pockets. She nodded and we headed towards the special boys' clinic. Walking next to her, I realized I was only barely taller than her. There was only a few centimeter difference between us, and I felt the urge to go sulk in a corner.

Knocking on the door, we heard a woman's voice from within the clinic.

"Yes?" I opened the door while Haruhi stood next to me. "Fujioka and Nashi? I'm aware of both your situations." The woman inside the room had brown hair and glasses. "Please, take your clothes off over there." She pointed to a curtained off area.

"Ah, okay." Haruhi said while walking into the room. I followed behind while closing the door. Haruhi went into one area while I went into the other. Closing the curtain, I sighed while unbuttoning my uniform. Taking it off, I set it on the bench beside me.

Pulling off my tie, I dropped it onto the bench as well. Undoing the buttons on my shirt, I slipped it off and grumbled at the mess I was in. The binder keeping my chest flat was a bit tight, but the problem would be putting it back on after the physical exam. I heard a bunch of loud noises and raised my head. 'The Hell is going on out there?' I thought while turning around.

"Oi! What's with all the ruckus?" I nearly growled while tossing open the curtain. "What are you guys doing in here?" I saw the rest of the members of the host club and Haruhi wearing Tamaki's shirt. Their eyes landed on me and their faces turned pink and red. "Did I miss something?"

"Sin...." Honey said while covering Usa-chan's eyes with one hand and his own eyes with his other. "You're shirtless."

"Whatever, I have my binder on. Just get out of here!" I rose my voice while waving my hand. "Go on, get!" I shouted while kicking them out of the room.


	4. Leaking Through

Dressed in traditional attire, my hair was in its usual high ponytail with a black ribbon now tied around it. With my hands in the sleeves of the black kimono, I looked at the girls gazing at me.

"Sin, you look good in that kimono." A girl sitting beside me stuttered.

"Why, thank you, sweet lamb." I smirked. "But be careful, your delightful scent and kind words are making you look even more appetizing to this beast." I said while putting a hand under her chin. Her cheeks went a dark red as she blushed.

When she finally left, I sighed and rose from my seat. Stretching my legs, I looked to see what the other hosts were doing. Haruhi was with the twins when one of them handed her something.

"I can have this?" She asked while looking up at them.

"How charming!" The twins said with big grins on their faces.

"Haruhi, you like confections?" Two girls were suddenly in Haruhi's face.

"No, I'm not much for sweets. Still, it might be nice as a memorial offering for my mother." She smiled gently while looking at the sweet in her hands.

"How admirable of you!" And Tamaki ruined the moment by piling up her hands full of the confections. Looking at them, I wondered where they were getting them from.

"Those look good...." I mumbled. Not but a second after, a hand was in front of my face, holding one of the confections. "Hm?" I looked up and saw Takashi wasn't even looking at me as he held out the sweet. "For me?" I pointed at myself. He nodded, his cheeks the slightest shade of pink. "Thanks." I smiled while taking it from his hand. "This is delicious

"No! Don't touch me, you phony!" I heard a girl scream. Looking, I saw Tamaki with a girl I'd never seen before.

"I'm....a phony?"

"Yes! You're a phony!" She pointed at him. "I can't believe that you are the prince figure in this club!" She said with disgust. "The prince character doesn't go spreading his love around so readily!" Tamaki acted like he had been struck as he backed away slowly. "How can you be so stupid?! It's almost like you're a dim-witted narcissist!" She continued shouting. "Incompetent! Mediocre! The pits!" And Tamaki went down for the count on the last insult.

"By any chance, are you...." Kyouya asked with a hand on his chin.

"Kyouya-sama!" She teared up while running over a defeated Tamaki. "I've wanted to meet you." She said while hugging the boy in glasses. "My own prince."

~

"Fiancée?" The twins asked when we were back to the Music Room 3. "Kyouya-senpai's?"

"Yes. My name is Hoshakuji, Renge. I will be transferring into 1st-Year, Class A tomorrow." The girl said as she sat on one of the couches.

"Look, he's mad." We were all looking at the sulking Tamaki. "That's because Mommy was hiding something from Daddy."

"Whatever. Are you trying to make this married couple thing stick?" Kyouya asked.

"It is indeed love at first sight." The girl spoke up. "The way you were adoring those flowers by yourself in the back courtyard, even when no one else was looking.... And the way you kindly reached out to that injured little kitty...."

"Who are we talking about?"

"Could you have the wrong person?"

"No! You can't fool these eyes!" She told Haruhi. "He's someone who is kind to everyone, and yet does not seek to have anyone take notice of him." I was so confused since none of what she said sounded like Kyouya. "He loves solitude but is actually lonesome. The one who looks just like the star of the currently popular love simulation game, 'Uki-Doki Memorial,' Ichijo Miyabi, and that's you!" She pointed at Kyouya.

"I see now. You're infatuated with a character. You're projecting the character infatuation onto me, going so far as to delude yourself that we are engaged." Kyouya had a hand on his chin.

"Whoa, deluded, you say? Then, that story about her being your fiancée...." Tamaki asked.

"I don't remember ever acknowledging that. For one thing, I've never even met her before today." I made a face while sitting between the twins. Crossing my arms, it now made more sense that she was describing a game character and not Kyouya.

"According to my information, Kyouya-sama, I understand that you administer everything about this club." The girl said.

"That's right. Kyo is our director." Honey looked over the back of the couch.

"The director? That's perfect!" Renge said. "I've always dreamed of being the drawing card for some business."

"We don't need one. We're a host club, after all." The twins droned.

"I've made up my mind. I'm going to be this host club's manager!" She smiled.

"Hey, Kyouya...." Tamaki pouted.

"She's the daughter of a client that's important to the Ootori Family. I ask that you be sure not to do anything impolite." Kyouya looked straight at me when he said that.

"Everyone, it's going to be a pleasure." Renge smiled.

~

"I thought about this all night last night, and having a lady manager might not be all that bad." Tamaki was saying during a Host Club meeting.

"Why do you say that?"

"Don't you see? She has transferred into this same class as Haruhi." Tamaki smirked. "If the two both become friends as girls, Haruhi might become more girlish. The uniquely girlish air of tenderness about her could stimulate Haruhi's own sense of femininity."

"Good, grief...." Haruhi mumbled.

"This is a grand-scale project in order to stir Haruhi up to be more girly!" Tamaki made a serious face. "Only having these two disreputable twins as close classmates, is not good for Haruhi."

"That's telling us, all right." The twins both raised brows.

"People...." Renge came in. "Renge, your Host Club drawing card, has baked some cookies."

"Oh...." Tamaki was suddenly by the front door. "how ladylike! I'm so moved!"

"I didn't bake them for you, you phony prince." And she sent Tamaki into sulking. I ignored what she said after that and yawned.

"You're right, these are burnt." I heard Honey say. Looking up, I paled when I saw him eating one of Renge's cookies.

"Mitsukini, stop. They're bad for you." Takashi said. Renge heard and her hair turned to snakes as she chased the 3rd Year males.

"She's scaring me!" Honey whined, and I sighed while shaking my head. Then, there was a fuss over Haruhi and the twins since Tamaki didn't approve of them eating cookies with Haruhi and licking her face.

"It's all too tepid!" Renge shouted.

"Huh?" I looked up at her.

"Except for Kyouya-sama, all of your characters are too lackluster! All of you hosts are lacking a 'dark' side! Except for Sin because his character _is_ dark." She pointed at the grouped up boys while mumbling the last bit under her breath as I watched from a couch. "Girls are vulnerable to handsome young men going through trauma! If you keep carrying on in this ridiculous manner, it's only a matter of time before everyone grows tired of it! Are you trying to ruin Kyouya-sama's precious business?" She shouted. "As manager, starting today, I'm changing all of your character backgrounds.... Starting with you!" She pointed to Honey.

"If all you are is cute, inside and out, then you're the same as a baby. As such, you're now 'The cute-face, who's actually a thug!' Morinozuka, you're the 'Childhood-friend flunky!' The twins will be basketball players, 'Shut up in their own world!' Haruhi, you're an honor student, faced with 'Intense bullying!' And Tamaki," She was ranting and I furrowed my brows as I listened. "you are the school idol, esteemed for your looks, but actually, you have an inferiority complex....'The lonesome prince!'" Renge shouted. "Oh, Kyouya-sama, you're perfect. You just stay your usual kind, affectionate self."

"I'm honored." He smiled.

"Wait," She paused. "Wasn't there one other host?" She looked around, spotting me on the couch. "You!" Renge pointed. "You're the one who uses a cool and rebellious personality to hide that you have a monster inside, secretly afraid to let anyone close in fear of them getting hurt, 'The man with a beast inside!'"

"Bite me," I flashed my sharp teeth. "why the Hell would I do something like that?" She looked at me slowly. Her cheeks went pink as she smiled.

"That's perfect! Perfect!" Renge squealed, and my face fell flat at her reaction.

"Well, let's just see how it goes, why don't we? Something interesting will come of it, I'll bet." Kyouya smiled.

~

Standing among the trees as the fake rain came, I waited for my cue. I sighed while fidgeting with the collar Renge had put on me. "It would complete the look," she had said.

"You can't run away any longer." I heard Honey speak to Haruhi in a cold voice, meaning my cue was coming up. "You're going to learn what happens when you go against me."

"Don't, Mitsukuni. Every time you hurt others, you're the one who ends up being hurt."

"Don't try to give me any advice, Takashi." Honey told the taller boy. "You want me to put you over my knee again?" He paused while raising his head and sadistically smirking at Haruhi. "I hate it when people try to rise above their own station in life."

"Wait," I said while walking out of the shadows, a hand in my pocket and a dark look in my eyes. "this is my prey. Go find something else, shrimp." It actually felt wrong to say this to Honey, even if it wasn't real. And that also seemed to be too much for Honey since he broke and began to cry.

"Waah! Haru, I'm sorry! I really can't do this!" I guess he felt bad being mean to Haruhi, too.

"Cut! Cut! Cut! Cut!" Renge shouted. "You there! Stick to the script!"

"But I...." Honey wailed. Sighing, I walked off the grass and went looking for a towel.

"Where in the world did Renge say they were again?" I mumbled while trying to search around for one. That is until one was dropped right onto my head. Turning around, I saw Takashi walking off. "Thanks, Mori!" He just gave a brief glance over his shoulder and nodded.

Drying off with the towel, I went to look for some snacks. When I finally found them, I began to pig out on the various treats and sweets. _'Maybe I might keep the collar, it's kind of cool....'_ I thought absently while walking.

I raised my head when I heard a clattering noise and I dropped everything and ran. All I saw was Haruhi crouching down while covering her face, Renge trying to make sure she was okay, and two boys with looks on their faces that'd I'd seen before. I didn't need to see anymore since I reacted before being able to. Tackling the nearest guy, I grabbed him by the collar of his shirt and began to growl.

"You hurt Haruhi...." I snarled, and the boy was shaking in fear. "You're going to pay."

"W-wait, Suoh! She's the one who started giving us a hard time!" I heard the other guy say behind me after a thud.

"It's true, Senpai." Haruhi said.

"Doesn't matter who started it." I growled while tightening my grip on the boy's shirt.

"These boys aren't at fault."

"Doesn't matter." I mumbled. "You made Haruhi cry." The boy was completely terrified, his eyes were wide as he looked at my eyes, my sharp teeth, and my vicious glare. I swung back a fist, ready to hit him, but somebody pulled me off before I could.

"Get back here!" I was snarling as the boy scrambled to his feet and ran off with his friend. "I'm going to beat you to bloody pulps, you annoying little pests!" Struggling as the person held me off the ground, I heard surprised gasps.

"Sin!" My body froze when I realized everyone had seen and heard me.

"Senpai, I'm really okay! My contact just slipped out." Haruhi was in front of me now, smiling as if nothing had happened. Relaxing, I sighed.

"Oh, thank goodness." I mumbled. "Okay, I'm good now. You can put me down." I said while looking up at who had me and saw it was Takashi. "I swear, it's all good now!" He gave me a look, but let me down.

"Wow, that was kind of scary, Sin." Honey said and I looked at the ground while rubbing my arm.

"That's....that's kinda why I went into homeschooling until now.... Anger management problems." I mumbled. There was a sound of breaking glass, and we all turned to see Kyouya holding a rock in front of a camera.

"K-Kyouya-sama?" Renge shouted in surprise.

"I'm sorry, but I cannot allow there to be any record of a club member engaging in violence. I am extremely displeased at the way you're acting like such a pest." He said coldly.

"Why?" Renge whimpered. "Kyouya-sama, you're supposed to tell me not to worry about it, and then gently pat me on the head!" She cried. "Why would someone as kind and affectionate as you...."

"That's not who Kyouya is." Tamaki answered. Renge fell to her knees and began to cry harder.

"It doesn't matter, does it?" Haruhi spoke up. "Even if Kyouya is a little different from what you expected, Renge, I think that watching people, and slowly, little by little, getting to know them, can be fun, too." Haruhi smiled at the girl.

~

"I bought that video!" A girl said while blushing.

"Me too!"

"Me too!" So many girls were saying, and I raised a brow while glancing over.

"That scene in the rain was the greatest!"

"The lonesome prince!"

"The deep relationship between Hikaru-sama and Kaoru-sama was too much!"

"I want to see Honey acting like a thug again!"

"And Haruhi's poignant expressions!"

"What about the way Sin's eyes glowed?! It was like he was going to lose control of his beast!"

"Mori was definitely some kind of masochist, huh?" The girls were all saying stuff about what Renge had shot.

"Kyouya...." Tamaki said.

"I may have broken the lens, but naturally, the footage that was already shot still remains. Of course, that one scene of violence is cut out. Sales have been pretty fair." He said while writing stuff down. "That first-rate Hollywood staff did as good a job as you'd expect." He pushed up his glasses.

"Is this what you meant by 'interesting'?" The twins asked.

"It's best to have as much as we can in the club budget, right?" Kyouya questioned. I sighed and got up to go get some sort of sweet. But when I came back, Haruhi was gone and Tamaki was crying about how Renge took off with her. Shaking my head, I opened my snack and sat on a windowsill.


	5. When Twins Argue

"What a ridiculous game." Haruhi said while walking past Hikaru and Kaoru. I was with her, eating a bag of M&Ms as I followed the shorter girl. The twins both had on identical hats while trying to get the other girls to guess which one was which.

"Huh? Something you don't like about it?" They asked.

"It's not just that." She stopped walking, so I stopped with her. "I can't quite figure out why you two are so popular." She turned around to face them.

"That's telling us." They both said.

"I'd have to agree with Haruhi on this one." I popped a few M&Ms into my mouth.

"Apparently, Haruhi and Sin don't...." "....understand the merits of having twins in the Host Club." The twins slid up beside Haruhi and I. "Listen here. Just having a couple of good-looking homosexuals earns plenty of high points." "And making a show of teetering between that and friendship is also desirable." "But in our case, being twins, we get to use this most forbidden of taboos as a weapon." They then went over to a girl sitting in a chair. "On top of that, there's the scenario of having two people, who have such deep ties to each other, loving you at the same time." They touched the girl gently on her face. "It's the ultimate young woman's romance, right?"

"Er....I....I can't bear any more!" And there was a trio of squealing girls.

"Hikaru! Kaoru!" Tamaki slid to a stop from his running as he was angrily shouting at the twins.

"Huh?" They looked up at him as I continued to eat.

"I let you have control of the club's homepage on the condition that you would take it seriously!"

"And we are taking it seriously." "We were up until dawn last night working on it." They replied.

"And this is the screen that you made?!" Tamaki flipped open a laptop. On the screen was a shirtless Haruhi.

"Haru, you look great!" Honey complemented. Then, a group of girls took the laptop and were fawning over the image while Haruhi seemed in shock.

"There, there, Haruhi." I pat her shoulder.

"When?!" Tamaki shouted. "When did you take nude photos of Haruhi?!" The tall blonde then began to have horrible fantasies as he panicked. "Is that what you did?! Is that what you did?!"

"You're intensely delusional." They both answered. "It's a composite photo, of course."

"Composite?"

"We did a good job, didn't we?" They grinned. "Magnificent skill, if I do say so myself."

"You idiots! What a wasted use of your skills! Have some shame!" Tamaki shouted before pulling out a magazine. "But if you are going to do it, composite her with this idol photo collection."

"That would be silly, sir. It would be quicker...." "....to ask her directly to wear that stuff." Haruhi still seemed shocked at the fact of a picture of her like that was on the internet, faked or not.

"Y-yeah, I could ask her." Then, Tamaki was behind us. "What do you think about this?"

"Why do you have that?" Honey asked. Raising one of my brows, I saw Tamaki holding up a pink dress to Haruhi's back.

"Yeah....why _do_ you have that....?" I mumbled.

"Haruhi looks fantastic!"

"Still, like Tamaki-sama says, I'd sure like to see Haruhi dressed in women's clothes." I overheard the girls behind us with the laptop.

"Haruhi is so cute, I'm sure they would look good on him." After a girl said that, Haruhi finally snapped out of it and was glaring at Tamaki until he went away.

"Would you stop compositing pictures of me without my permission?" She looked at the twins. "Just what do you take other people to be?"

"Isn't it obvious? Toys." They smirked. "We even did pictures of Sin."

"What?" I looked up, and their smirks turned devilish as I glanced at the laptop. Narrowing my eyes, I walked over to the group of girls. "Excuse me, ladies." I said while getting on the laptop. Looking through the Host Club member pictures, I found what the twins were talking about. The girls squealed at the images of me shirtless, and I had to nod my head in respect since they'd given me some muscle definition. "These are quite good."

"I am not a toy!" Haruhi's shout caught my attention. Leaving the laptop, I went back over to where she was while eating M&Ms.

"Toys...." A voice snickered. "Toys....toys...." A dark-clad figure peeked out of a doorway that I don't remember being there before. "If you like toys, then, by all means, come to my club, the Black Magic Club." We all looked at him. "We've opened a marketplace of the world's black magic curios. We're also always holding mass. If you come now, I'll make sure you get this handsome curse doll, Belzenef, as my present." He held up a cat hand puppet.

"Why is he talking through a crack in the door?" Haruhi asked.

"For that matter, has there always been a door there?"

"Nekozawa doesn't like brightly-lit places." Kyouya said while walking past.

"You must not have anything to do with that man." Tamaki spoke cryptically. "If you do, you will definitely become cursed." I raised a brow at the blond.

"Do you have any basis for that claim?" Haruhi asked as she backed away from Tamaki.

"Yes, it was during the tests at the end of last year...." Tamaki was saying, but my attention was caught by the cloaked man. He was beckoning for me to come closer, so I did while popping M&Ms into my mouth.

"What?" I asked.

"Your eyes...." He chuckled. "they are proof." I froze. Does he know?

"What are you talking about?" I tried to play it off. He opened his mouth to answer, but the twins shined a flashlight into his face.

"You murderers!" He screamed while slamming the dark brown door shut. The twins then shrugged while looking at each other.

"Hikaru, Kaoru, how could you?!" Tamaki panicked. "You don't know the true terror of black magic!" He said. The twins walked off while he was talking and sat down.

"Ah, I'm bored." "Isn't there anything we can do?" They glanced over at me, then smirked before turning to Haruhi. 'What?' I thought. "Say, Haruhi, we have a favor to ask." They asked flatly.

"What is it?"

"The next day off we get...." "....can we come over to your place?"

"Why would you?" Haruhi questioned.

"Because we're awfully interested in it."

"No way." She answered.

"Not at all?"

"No way. You'll just make fun of me."

"No matter how much we ask?"

"No way."

"Yeah," I said while tossing an arm over Haruhi's shoulders. "because next day off, she's coming to my place."

"Really?" The twins asked.

"Yeah." I grinned. "She's gonna show me how to make onigiri." The twins got a look on their faces while pulling out their hats.

"Then, let's do it this way. If either of you miss in the 'Which one is Hikaru game,' then as penalty, we get to come over to Haruhi's house." They then moved around to get themselves mixed up. "Okay, which one of us is Hikaru?" They asked when they finally stopped moving. Haruhi and I looked at each other and smiled.

"You're Kaoru, and you're Hikaru." We spoke at the same time like the twins usually did while pointing to the boys.

"Bzzzt! You got it wrong!" They said.

"No, we didn't." Haruhi and I said. "You look very similar," I said. "but you are different." She finished. They blinked with surprised expressions. Was it because Haruhi and I were talking like they did, or because we could tell them apart?

"So, when do you want me to pick you up?" I asked her.

"Around noon should be fine." She answered.

"Say, Haruhi, Sin, once they cover whether they part their hair on the left or the right, the differences between Hikaru and Kaoru becomes completely indistinguishable." A girl said while looking at Haruhi and I.

"How can you tell them apart?" Another asked.

"Uh, well, let's see...." Haruhi put a hand on her chin. "If I had to say...." She pointed towards the ceiling. "Hikaru's speech and actions are ten percent more ornery than Kaoru's."

"Plus, one of them smells sweeter than the other." I said, not thinking of how that would come out.

"....Smells....?" The girls tilted their heads in confusion.

"I'm sorry, Hikaru!" Kaoru snickered while covering his mouth.

"Well, I just don't mask anything and always express myself honestly, so Kaoru is the one who is more spiteful." Hikaru said. Kaoru stopped laughing.

"Don't go spinning this, Hikaru, I'm the one who's always going along, playing your selfish games, right?"

"I may be the one to suggest them, but you're the one who gets into them, Kaoru. If you don't like them, then just stop. What are you, stupid?" I turned around to look at the twins.

"You're too stupid to do it for yourself, Hikaru. Like how, even as you were calling her a toy, you were so quick to make a pass at her." Kaoru crossed his arms. "Hikaru, you really are in love with Haruhi, aren't you?"

"Huh?!" Hikaru looked away with pink cheeks.

"What?!" Tamaki shouted.

"H-hey, you've got it all wrong! You really are an idiot, Kaoru!"

"Yeah! There are some things you can and can't say in this world!" Tamaki added.

"For one thing, how is it that *I* would fall for that little tanuki?"

"What do you mean by calling Haruhi a little tanuki?!" Tamaki growled.

"Fantastic. This is fantastic." A woman's voice said as the sound of a powerful motor followed.

"Hikaru, Kaoru." I said calmly while crossing my arms. Standing behind them, I spoke calmly. "Even if this is another one of your games, be careful not to take it too far." My voice was low enough to where only they could hear me. They gave me shocked expressions.

Walking off, I went to go get another snack since I'd already eaten all of my M&Ms.

~

"Sorry I'm late." I yawned while walking into the Host Club.

"Hika and Kao are fighting with each other...." Honey mumbled. "It's never happened before, huh?" Takashi nodded.

"Is that right?" Haruhi asked. they must not have heard me come in, so I silently shut the door behind me and leaned against the wall.

"I've known them since pre-school. We weren't in the same year, so I never talked to them, but it seemed like they always played together." Honey said while messing with Usa-chan's arms.

"You're right. I've only known them since middle school, but they really stood aloof." Tamaki sighed. "It seemed like except for themselves, they kept everyone at a distance. Their personalities were several times more warped than they are now." He chuckled. "Thinking about it that way, maybe this fighting is a turn for the better. It means that their world is starting to get a little larger, doesn't it?" I smiled softly. 'Maybe the Host Club isn't so bad after all....' "Maybe it's best to leave them alone, under the circumstances."

Sighing, I quietly left to go get some fresh air. Taking a walk outside, I realized how much the Host Club really was like a big family. If you believe in it, it might have been fate that I got stuck with this goofy lot.

When I got back to the music room, I heard shouting. Walking through the door, I could hardly believe my eyes.

"I bought this from Nekozawa- Belzenef, the curse doll!" He held out the wooden cat. "I'm writing your name on this thing's back, Hikaru." He pulled out a marker. "From here on, you're going to meet with lots of misfortune and sorrow!" He began to write on the back of the doll.

"Enough already!" Haruhi hit the twins. "You don't go bringing something like this into a simple quarrel!" She took the cat from them. "You both are to blame for this fight, but you're even more to blame for bothering everyone around you with it!" Haruhi shouted at them. Their eyes were wide with shock as they looked at her-probably not expecting this outburst. "Now say you're sorry! If you don't makeup right now, then I'll never let you come over, as long as I live!" And then I realized what the goal of their 'fighting' had been.

"Hmm?" They smirked at once. Haruhi looked confused, on the other hand. "Then, if we do makeup, Haruhi, we can come over to your house, right?" They spoke at once as they walked around Haruhi like two cats would a mouse. She turned over the Belzenef doll and paled.

"I'm sorry, Kaoru. Even though I was just following our script, I'm not fit to be your brother," The twins did their 'homo' embrace. "to say such awful things to you."

"Not at all. I'm the one who was terribly worried about what I would do if I hurt you, Hikaru."

"Kaoru, I'll never let you go!"

"Hikaru!"

"Oh, you were faking the fight?!" Honey shouted after Haruhi dropped the wooden doll.

"Well, we were bored." And that was when I lost it. With my hands holding my sides, I broke down in laughter.

"Ah, Sin!"

"Bravo, bravo!" I said between laughs. "Their faces when they found out it all was fake!" My ribs began to hurt. "You both even dyed your hair those crazy colors!"

"But, Sin...." "....your hair is dyed a crazy color, too."

"No," I took a deep breath while standing up all the way. "my hair is naturally this color."

"Really?!"


	6. Gator Ridin'

Walking into the Host Club, I was late once again. With my hands in my pockets, I walked to go get a snack. There were loud voices that caught my attention, though, and I glanced over to see a young boy in a green uniform.

The boy immediately dropped the tray Haruhi had handed him, breaking the tea set and spilling the tea.

"It's not my fault, okay? It's your fault for trying to make me do it." The boy rose his voice at Haruhi.

"Ha?"

"Haruhi, -100,000¥." Kyouya said from the sideline.

"Hey, you should make the cross-dresser do all your stupid chores!" The boy shouted, making me freeze in my tracks. "Instead, hurry up and teach me how to make a woman happy!"

"Oi, kodomo." I said while standing next to Haruhi. The kid looked up at me and flinched from my gaze. "It's not nice to call people names." My voice was flat and the boy was looking terrified as I looked down at him. "Apologize."

"Sin, there's no need for that." Haruhi sighed. I was still looking at the kid though, and I growled a warning at him.

"Tch, what's the kid doing here, anyway?" I asked while looking straight at Tamaki, knowing he had to have had something to do with the kid being here.

"Uh, well...." He scratched the back of his head. Then, he explained everything before looking at the kid. "And above all, I'm not letting you get away with smarting off to Haruhi." He pointed to the boy. "Place him in isolation!"

"Yes, sir!" The twins said as a cage came down from the ceiling and trapped the boy.

"Well, then...." I stared at the cage, then where it had come from. "I'm going to go get a snack....and not even question this." When I came back, I sat on a couch while opening up the package in my hands.

"....to meet the needs of our guests." I barely heard Kyouya saying. "For example, there's Tamaki, who is the princely type." He pointed with his pencil. "There's the 'strong, silent type.'" He pointed to Takashi. "The 'boy-Lolita type'...." Then, pointed to Honey. "The 'little-devil type'...." The twins. "....and the 'cool type'." He referred to himself. 'What's Haruhi, then?' I thought out of curiosity.

"We pride ourselves on our many variations. With the addition of our honor student, natural rookie, Haruhi-"

"'Natural'?" Haruhi asked while pointing at herself.

"-and our transfer student, Sin, the 'beast type'...."

"Huh?" I glanced up as it seemed Renge's label was sticking.

"....we've got just about the perfect assortment. I'm not sure we're going to find a new type beyond these."

"His age suggests the boy Lolita type...." "....but that would overlap with Honey."

"Am I in the way now?" Honey whined.

"Tepid! Quite tepid!" I heard a familiar voice shout followed by the sound of a powerful engine. Then, Renge came spiraling up out of the floor with a pointed finger in the air. "Gentlemen of the Host Club, to think that you'd be so lackluster in your character analysis, I am a little bit disappointed." She looked down her nose at them. "I thought I taught you better."

"Alright then, Mis Manager. How would you work Shiro into our collection of characters? He can't be the boy Lolita because Honey's already got that covered." Tamaki picked up a crying Honey.

"You just don't get it, do you? You listen up! There are plenty of girls out there who have a thing for younger boys or boys with baby faces. These girls would be considered Shota fans. Now, Shota can be a fairly broad category, so it's important to know that the genre can be broken down into many different smaller sub-categories." Nearly everything Renge was saying was going right over my head.

"For example, Shota fan with an interest in Lolita boys would favor a boy like Haninozuka. But this little boy is different. If I had to pick a character for him.... Yes! He'd be the naughty-boy type, without a doubt! Now, to play up the naughty type, you have to wear shorts. Okay!" She blew a whistle as the cage rose and pointed to the kid's shorts.

Standing up, I turned on my heel and walked away. I didn't want to see the snot become even more of a snot under Renge's tutilage. She'd specifically said to 'play up the naughty type' and I did *not* want to hear what else that turd would pop off with.

~

"Sin, where have you been? We were getting worried when you stopped showing up."

"Oh, I showed up. Then I walked right back out." I twirled my finger.

"Why?" Honey looked up at me with those big eyes of his as he held Usa-chan.

"That brat was here. I got damn near putting him in a time-out, I tell you."

"Sin!" Tamaki popped up and sprayed my face with water while his other fist was on his hip. "We hosts do _not_ curse! We are gentlemen."

"Did you just _spray_ me?" Wiping my face, Tamaki raised his brows at me.

"I did."

"I'm not a fucking cat." Tamaki dramatically gasped and sprayed me again. "Oi!"

"What did I just say? Gentlemen do not curse!"

"Spray me again and I'll shove that bottle so far-" Tamaki didn't even let me finish and water dripped from my chin. My gaze narrowed into a dangerous glare at the taller blond realized he'd made a mistake when he quickly turned and ran. "Tamaki!" I growled, chasing him through the room.

"Mommy!" He wailed, going right for Kyouya since the black-haired boy would protect him.

~

Laying on a beach chair while sipping on some iced-tea, I felt utterly relaxed. I could hear the twins, Honey, and Mori all playing in the water while Tamaki, Kyouya, and Haruhi were talking a few yards away under an umbrella. We were at some sort of new theme-park resort Kyouya's family owned to check it out before it would officially open in a month.

And so far....it was just great. Tropical birds called from the trees, and the false sun overhead was the perfect temperature.

"Sin! Why don't you come swim with us?" Honey called out and I peeked open my eyes to look at the short blond on Mori's shoulders.

"After my tea."

"Aw, come on. The water's nice!" The rosy-cheeked boy grinned while waving me over and I sighed. Getting up, I trudged to the water's edge and walked over to the duo. Honey slowly blinked, then pointed at me. "Have you started working out? Your arms look bigger."

"Oh, actually, yeah." I rubbed the back of my neck while chuckling. "After I saw the twins' photo edit they did of me, I kinda got inspired to build some muscle."

"Compare them to Takashi's!"

"Honey, his are clearly bigger. What are you, 6'2''?" I questioned while looking up at Mori and waving my hand.

"6'4''."

"Even worse." I popped off and his eyes slightly widened.

"Why worse?" Honey questioned while resting his chin on Mori's head.

"Because the only other hosts I'm taller than are you and Haruhi." I put my hands on my hips, and Honey chuckled.

"Sin, do you have a complex about your height?"

"Wha- No."

"Is that why you get angry when the others hold your snacks out of reach?"

"....No."

"Awe, Sin!"

"It's not!"

"How about this, then." Honey pointed upward while sitting straight. "If anyone holds your snacks out of your reach, Takashi will get them back for you. He's great at reaching things!" Why did I get the feeling Honey was trying to sell me something while he pat Mori's shoulder?

"....Would you really do that?" I questioned, and Mori nodded. "Then I guess your height is handy."

"Takashi is also really strong." Honey said matter-of-factly.

"Yeah, I remember him picking me up."

"So, what do you do to work out?" Honey questioned and I was beginning to get confused by Honey's behavior.

"Uh, just basic stuff. Push-ups, crunches, that sort."

"Oh, well Takashi does kendo and karate!"

"Wait, seriously?"

"Yeah!"

"That's awesome!" I grinned and barely noticed Mori's ears turning red as he glanced away. "How long have you been doing that?"

"....Since I was a kid." His voice was quiet, barely over a whisper, but I managed to make out what he'd said.

"Wow, that's some dedication. Do you enjoy it?" Mori nodded, and Honey had a sly grin on his face. _'What in the world....'_

~

Sitting under an umbrella, I was munching on some fresh fruit when I heard a rumbling sound followed by splashing water. My head jerked up when I hear Honey scream, and I saw a giant wave taking off with the blond.

"Mitsukuni!" Mori bolted without a second thought with Haruhi chasing after. However, he slipped on a banana peel someone tossed away and tumbled.

"Oh, shit!" I hissed, setting down my fruit and quickly going over to Mori. "Hey, you okay? It looked like you hit your chin. Let me look." Tilting up Mori's face, I furrowed my brows. "It looks like you just scraped it."

"Gentlemen, we're going after Honey!" Tamaki declared while pointing. "That pool looks like the quickest way! Charge!"

"Woah, woah, wait. Did you guys not just see Mori fall? I think he needs some ice, and definitely needs to clean up the scrapes."

"I'm fine." Mori pushed himself to stand and my brows furrowed further.

"Are you sure?" He simply nodded.

"Then let's go!" Tamaki ran off with the others following before Kyouya spoke up.

"Oh, I wouldn't go that way...."

"There are alligators in there!" They came running back while screaming.

"Okay. So we can't use that pool. Then let's try this way next!" Tamaki pointed only to come running right back due to more alligators.

"Here, this is a map of the Tropical Aqua Garden." Kyouya pointed out after more alligators came out from the treeline. "This is our current location. We need to get here. I have a feeling that's where Honey probably ended up. It might be tough because to get there we'll have to make it through this jungle area here in the southern block. Distance-wise, we're talking about 800 meters."

"It looks like there are a lot of undeveloped areas." Haruhi voiced her concern while looking at the map. "Any idea what might be lurking in those parts of the jungle?"

"Since they're still being developed, I don't know."

"Whatever's out there could be even more dangerous," "Than alligators."

"All right! Now, this is a mission of survival! I know we can make it through the treacherous jungle in one piece. It is our sworn duty to save Honey!" Tamaki raised a fist before leading the way into the jungle. "Wow, this place is just like a real jungle, huh?"

"Yeah, and I keep hearing all of these really strange animal calls."

"You don't think that all those animal sounds," "Could belong to the real thing, do you?"

"To be honest, I'm not sure, but I do know that my family always strives for authenticity, whatever the cost." Kyouya stated. There was a crash and we all looked to see Mori on the ground with a banana peel on his face.

"Mori is," "acting as clumsy as you, Boss." The twins sounded worried, and I crouched down to lift the peel off of Mori's face.

"Where do these things keep coming from?" I questioned before looking to Mori. "You okay?" He actually looked a bit embarrassed and quickly sat up.

"Uh-oh, it's about time for the squall." Kyouya looked at his watch as it went dark overhead.

"Huh?" And it began to rain from the false sky, making us have to take cover.

"Hey, Mori. You and Honey seem to be really close. Are the two of you, like, childhood friends?" Haruhi asked while sitting down.

"You mean, you don't know," "that they're cousins?"

"You're kidding me? They're related?"

"The Morinozukas have been serving the Haninozuka family for generations." Kyouya explained.

"However, two generations ago, the families became relatives by marriage and the master-servant relationship soon became a thing of the past. But even so, Mori has always made a point to accompany Honey. It must really get his blood going. The blood of a loyal servant flows like a mighty river through Mori's veins."

"Such a beautiful story! I'm touched!" The twins sobbed into handkerchiefs.

"I don't know if I'd call it a beautiful story." Haruhi made a face. Sighing as my eyes closed, I rubbed the back of my neck. I thought today was going to be simple and relaxing, but then again, with this group, there was hardly ever such a time.

"Sin? Where are you going?" Haruhi looked at me as I stepped out into the rain. The water made my bangs hang in clumps, so I swept them back flat against my head while looking over my shoulder.

"I may be rich, but I wasn't raised a pampered brat. I have tracking and survivalist training. I'm going to go and try to find Honey."

"Oh! So cool." The twins popped off.

"But it's pouring down raining, Sin."

"It's not that bad." I shrugged before turning away and going into the trees.

"Wait, Sin! Come back! It's too dangerous to go alone!"

"I'll be fine!" I waved over my shoulder before hearing arguing from the twins and Tamaki. The plants behind me rustled and I glanced back to see Mori. "You could have waited back there." He shook his head, and I sighed through my nose. "Be sure not to get lost then. Come on."

"Mm." Mori fell into step beside me as my eyes scanned our surroundings. The rain covered any scent trail, but I had a strong feeling Honey was in this direction. I hadn't spotted any footprints, though, only animal tracks in the soft mud.

The rain let up as the 'sun' returned, and I waved to Mori to get his attention.

"We should turn here." He looked in the direction I was pointing and nodded. It was utterly silent between the two of us as we walked and looked around for the little blond. However, we were stopped by a squad of men dressed like a SWAT team and I felt myself tense. "Kyouya, what the Hell?!" I hissed while looking around at the men holding guns.

"Target confirmed. The target has been captured by a suspicious man. We'll take the target into custody." One of them said and my brows furrowed.

"You there! Step away from the boy immediately! If you refuse, we will have to use force!" Their guns locked onto Mori and I froze because those sure as shit weren't BB guns.

"Hey!" I snarled when a hand roughly grabbed my arm to drag me away, but Mori sent the man flying with a single hit.

"The suspect is resisting! Prepare to fire warning shots!"

"Takashi! Sin! Outta the way!" Honey came hollering, flying off of a vine before letting go and kicking one of the men in the face.

"Hey! What do you think you're doing, pipsqueak?!" Mori gently grabbed the back of my shirt and pulled me further away with a blank look on his face.

"You might want to stand back." He said lowly, and I would have asked why until I saw Honey start kicking everyone's ass. I was now trying to process how such a tiny, bubbly young man not even 5 feet tall had that much power.

"You guys should be more careful who you mess with! Picking on my friends is bad! Got it?" Honey wagged his finger while scolding the unconscious men.

"Holy shit...."

"Oh, Sin, you shouldn't curse." Honey turned to me with his fists on his hands.

"Okay but....that was awesome! You just flew in and-and woosh! Bam! Fwoosh!" I waved my hands and Honey giggled while giving a peace sign. "Wait, and then," I spun on my heel to look at Mori. "you sent a man FLYING!" I threw out my hands. "That was badass!"

"Sin!"

"Right, sorry." I cleared my throat. "That was really cool." Mori averted his gaze just before the others came running. They asked if we were okay, and the twins were poking at the unconscious men to make sure they were still alive.

"Takashi, you did an amazing job of protecting Sin." Honey grabbed Takashi's wrist to pull him down to his height to pat his head. It was actually adorable. "I bet you were pretty lonely without me around, huh?"

"....I don't know if I'd say that." Mori replied and Honey got a big smile on his face.

"You know, maybe we should go to the beach next." Hikaru suggested as we were walking back out of the jungle.

"Yeah, the beach would be nice."

"You idiots, Haruhi's not interested in anything like that."

"Actually, I might like to go to the beach. I may not be into this silly water park, but I like the ocean. It would be nice to go to the beach, and it's so pretty."

"Yeah! All right. Then that's where we'll go next time!"

"We're all gonna go to the beach, Tama?" Honey asked. "Hmm. That'll be fun, don't you think?"

"Yeah."

"Sin, you can't take the alligator with you." Kyouya glanced back at me, and his statement made the other's quickly turn to look at me.

"I wasn't planning on it. My feet just got tired." I huffed, ignoring the shocked faces sent my way as I sat on the back of the giant reptile.

"S-S-Sin?! What are you doing?!"

"I just said my feet got tired."

"You're riding an _alligator!_ " Haruhi's face paled.

"Animals like me."

"....Maybe the beast type is more than just a type?!" Tamaki gasped while covering his mouth.


	7. Beach Day

"You read magazines too?" Honey popped up next to me as I sat in the window.

"No, looking for ideas."

"For?"

"A haircut." I turned the page while glancing over the faces. "I like having long hair, but I'm debating an undercut."

"Oh, I think that'd look cool! Why the change?"

"I don't actually do much with my hair, and if I don't like it I can just grow it back out."

"Ooo, if you do get it cut, it'd look really cool slicked back." Honey grinned while sliding his fingers through his own hair to show what he meant. "With your eyes and piercings, you'd really look awesome."

"....You think so?"

"Yeah!"

"Guess I'll try it out then."

~

"Sin! Over here!" I heard Honey shout and saw the little blond waving his hand wildly from a small group that looked like they were stretching. Running my hand through my hair, I sheepishly grinned and felt the breeze on my neck since I'd gotten it cut before coming to Okinawa. "Uwah! I told you it'd look cool!" Honey smiled. "Right, Takashi?" He turned to the taller male that was staring at me.

"Mm." Mori nodded while glancing away.

"Sin! You cut your hair?!" A girl gasped and I vaguely recognized her as a regular from the Host Club. Oh....Oh no, I'd have to play that persona while here, too?

"Should I not have, my little lamb? Please, tell me what you truly think." My voice dropped as I tilted her chin up with a finger. Her face went a deep crimson as she began to stutter.

"N-N-N-No, i-it looks great, S-Sin."

"Oh, you're too sweet to me, dear." Man, I could really say some cringe-y shit, but these girls just ate it up. Did they seriously like this 'beast type' this much or were they just saving me the embarrassment?

"Yeah, i-it really accentuates your masculinity." Another girl said while holding her cheeks. And then it clicked right there why these girls liked this persona. Between their comments and Honey's, I finally figured it out.

I looked like a 'bad boy'.

However, that masculinity comment definitely was boosting my ego. Narrowing my eyes at the girl while smirking, I slightly tilted my head.

"My, my. All these sweet words are making me quite hungry. Careful, little lamb, I just might eat you up." The girl melted with the slight growl to my voice, and I was so focused on not fucking up this persona that I forgot Honey and Mori were standing right there.

"If you want a snack, we brought plenty!" Honey piped up and I wanted to laugh but held it in.

"I wish Mori would call me his little lamb." I heard a girl in the back of the group sigh.

"Ooo, it would be something to see Mori a little 'beastly'." Another one piped in and it looked like Honey was listening to each of the girls muttering while Mori stood there with a blank expression.

"Am I not enough, my dears? I'm hurt." I placed a hand over my heart, and even the faked tone of pain was taken like fodder as the girls surrounded me. And, oh boy, the compliments they gave and the reassurance was stroking my ego more. Except the group parted as Mori stepped forward, his expression still blank as he leaned down a bit.

I didn't know what he was doing, but I froze when his finger lifted my chin. He locked eyes with me and spoke just three simple words.

"My little lamb." Mori's voice was low as his face was only inches from mine. _'Oh, shit. Oh, fuck! Shit! Fuck! Shit! Fuck! Fuckity fuck, fuck!'_ I mentally screamed as my cheeks flushed red due to the look in Mori's eyes and his tone.

Loud squealing erupted around us as he pulled away, and I covered my face with a hand. Damn it, I was not prepared for _that_. Especially in front of all these people. Though, the girls were absolutely loving it. I knew it was just a ploy to make the girls happy, but goodness, it was not good for my heart.

~

"This is the place. It's the most haunted spot in all of Okinawa. The locals don't even come out here."

"They say you can only find this cave at low tide. Evidently, many people have died down here from drowning. And their souls still linger, taking revenge on anyone who happens to come inside."

"Look!" A laughing puppy with glowing eyes shot out, and the girls already clinging to each other screamed.

"What's going on? Are you trying to freak me out?" Haruhi questioned after a skeletal hand landed on her shoulder.

"What's wrong with you two? I thought everyone was afraid of ghosts."

"Wait, you were trying to scare me, too?" I pointed at myself and the twins nodded. "I love spooky stuff. Ghosts don't scare me."

"Sin, c-could you hold my h-hand? I'm s-scared." A girl asked and I held out my hand to her while smirking.

"Don't worry, lamb. Just hold on to me and I'll protect you." She seemed to swoon and leaned on me the entire way out of the cave.

~

"Haru! Sin! Would you come over here?" Honey called out, but Haruhi nervously sweat while looking up at the blond.

"Um.... Are you sure it's okay to drive a truck like this on the sand?"

"Don't worry. Come on." Haruhi and I glanced at each other, sighed, then climbed into the back of the truck with Honey. "Well, we're ready whenever you are, private police people. Please, lower the door." He bowed to the armored group that saluted in return.

"Yes, sir!" The door shut, leaving us in the dark. I expected something to pop out if this was another trick like with the twins, but instead, Honey began to panic.

"It's dark and scary in here! I feel like I can't breathe!"

"Honey, what's wrong?"

"I can't take it anymore!"

"I think he's claustrophobic." I muttered as Honey cried.

~

"Mori, uh.... You're my _senpai_ , not a _sentai_." Haruhi popped off as Mori was holding a fishing spear. I couldn't help but snort at her casual wordplay. Mori glanced at me while just standing there.

"No, I'm not scared of sharp objects either."

~

"Don't hurt him!" I heard a girl shout from on top of some rocks. My eyes shot over the area, looking for where Haruhi had been hunting through pools for 'side dishes' just moments ago.

"Don't try and act all tough, little sissy boy!" A man shouted from the same place as the girl and I bolted, climbing up the rocks as quickly as possible until I reached the top. A man with long hair pulled back into a ponytail was holding Haruhi by the front of her shirt, standing dangerously close to the edge over the water. A second man was holding two girls in his arms, leaning on them as they squirmed to get free.

"Let them go!" My voice came out almost like a growl as my hands balled into fists.

"I think I just might! Hope you can swim!" The man threw Haruhi and Tamaki was a blur running right past me. He dove in after her, and my furious gaze locked onto the man. Within the blink of an eye, my fist crashed into the side of his face and he went down. The girls screamed, and I spun to lock eyes with the second man.

"Hurt them and I'll do so much worse to you." I was actually growling now, and the man looked close to pissing himself.

"Stay back!" He tightened his hold, but my fist shot out again and I heard his nose crack as he flew back. Blood trickled out, and the girls were shaking with fear while huddled together.

"Shhh, it's okay now." My tone went soft as I looked at the girls with tears welling in their eyes. "It's okay."

"Sin!" They cried out, latching onto me while crying into my shirt.

"There, there. You're alright." Patting their heads, my brows were furrowed in frustration and anger.

"What about Haruhi?"

"Tamaki's got him. He'll be okay, too." I could feel them shivering against me, and it was then that the others came up to where we were.

"Sin!"

"What happened?!"

"I'll explain later. We need to get these two taken care of first." I glanced at the two clinging to me. The twins stepped forward, each one taking a girl and offering words of comfort as they lead them back down the rocks.

"I don't want to be the one to state this, but I must remind you that our Host Policy states that we cannot be seen committing acts of violence." Kyouya pushed up his glasses but actually paused from the glare on my face.

"What else did you fucking expect me to do? They were trying to take the girls and fucking threw Haruhi into the water without giving two shits! I don't think I need to explain to you how even more dangerous that situation could have gotten, especially if Tamaki hadn't saved Haruhi."

"You just go cool off." Kyouya sighed. "I'll clean this up." Taking a deep breath, I stepped over the man with a broken nose and left.

~

"I smell food!" I burst into the dining room, and Honey giggled.

"We made dinner." He stated while setting down plates of crab.

"We?" I quirked up a brow while sitting down at the table.

"Me and Takashi!" And speaking of the devil, Takashi walked in with Haruhi. However, the short brunette was wearing a pink frilly nightdress.

"Whoa!" Honey beamed at the girl.

"Where'd you get that dress?" The twins asked in unison.

"From my dad. He must've repacked my bags when I wasn't looking. He's always trying to get me to wear this frilly stuff."

"Good job, Haruhi's dad!" The twins raised their thumbs.

"Haru, you look so cute!" Honey grinned and my gaze drifted to Tamaki hiding behind a column while whimpering like a sad puppy. The atmosphere became awkward when everyone sat at the table and Haruhi and Tamaki weren't even speaking to each other. No one was moving, except Kyouya as he was writing something down, and me because I was stuffing my face.

Awkward be damned, I was hungry.

"Let's dig in, Haru!" Honey tried to lighten the mood. "These are the crabs we caught! I bet they're delicious!"

"They are." I said after swallowing a mouthful. "Absolutely delicious."

"Hear that, Haru?" The blond watched as Haruhi picked up a crab leg and snapped it like bone. Tamaki flinched in the seat beside her.

"These crabs....taste in-crab-ible!" She droned, breaking more legs and making Tamaki flinch each time. "Get it? Haha." Her tone was so dry that I had to take a drink of water.

"D-Don't you think you've had enough?" Tamaki asked meekly as the pile of shells was rather high next to Haruhi.

"Excuse me? I thought you weren't speaking to me."

"You....You trying to be cute?" She shot him a look while chewing, and Tamaki got to his feet. "Okay, fine, I get it. It seems you refuse to admit that you were wrong. See if I care, then. I'm going to bed. Kyouya, will you show me to my room, please?"

"No problem. Well, excuse me, everyone." Kyouya stood after dabbing his mouth with a napkin.

"....Maybe he's right. Maybe I do need to learn a way to protect myself." Haruhi muttered.

"Well, it wouldn't hurt you to learn martial arts or something." "But it's not like we're going to force you to learn it." "Besides, that's not the real issue here."

"Huh?"

"To be honest, we were all a little worried about how recklessly you acted."

"What do you mean? I didn't cause you guys any trouble or anything."

"That's not true, Haru. I think you should apologize, okay? You made us all worry. Especially Tama. I think you need to apologize to him the most."

"Sin even knocked out those guys."

"What?" Haruhi went wide-eyed as her gaze shot to me and I looked away while chewing. "Why would you do that?"

"Sin was worried, too. Weren't you?"

"....Yeah." I muttered and there was a quiet pause.

"Guys, I'm really sorry."

"Apology accepted, you little mutt!" The twins and Honey latched onto Haruhi while rubbing their cheeks against her head. "You're so cute. We forgive you!" "Is something wrong?"

"I'm not feeling so good." Haruhi's face had gone blue.

"You must've eaten too much crab."

"Be strong, Haru!"

"Let's get her to the nearest restroom! Hurry!"

~

Sitting at the table by the large windows, I had my eyes closed while listening to the rain. The thunder rattled the glass panes and I lowly hummed while resting my cheek in my hand. This was actually the first overnight trip I'd been on without my parents. Was this what a 'sleepover' was?

Rain pelted against the window and the sound filling the quiet room as I relaxed in the comfortable chair. There was a knock at the door, making my ear twitch.

"Come in." I called out while slowly opening my eyes. The door opened and Mori walked in. He quietly came over to the table I sat at before gently placing down a book onto the table. "Oh, thanks. It must have fallen out of my bag." Mori nodded, then turned to leave again. "Wait." He paused, looking back at me with his usual blank expression. "When you learned karate....was it hard?"

"....It takes work." Mori answered before looking like he was thinking. "Can I ask you a question?"

"What?"

"Those guys....how did you knock them out if you don't know how to fight?"

"I punched them in the face."

"....That's all?"

"Yeah. Why?"

"You're not normal, are you?" His tone was steady and calm as he looked down at me, but my hand balled into a fist in my lap.

"I'm as normal as they come."

"The power it takes to knock someone out with a single hit....it's not something anyone can just do."

"Guess working out is just paying off." I swallowed as lightning flashed across the sky. I saw Mori pause, then turn to leave again, but stopped at the door.

"Goodnight, Sin." And the door closed.

"Why do you hardly ever use my name?" I mumbled to the dark and empty room.


	8. Haruhi's House

"Welcome, ladies!" The boys greeted the two girls walking into the room while surrounding a couch. Tamaki, Honey, Kyouya, and Mori were all dressed as knights; Tamaki in white, Honey in pink, Kyouya in silver and purple, and Mori in black and blue. The twins, on the other hand, were dressed in light blue and white with giant hats with ridiculous feathers.

Then there was me....sitting in the corner stuck dressed as a damn western dragon. I was having a bit of an existential crisis because the horns and scales glued to my skin just would not come off. I was stuck as a dragon until someone decided to give me the deactivator for the strong FX glue that had been used.

"Well, well, well, I see you ladies are from another school. I certainly hope we haven't startled you. We love first-time guests." Tamaki raised his sword, and I wasn't 100% sure it was fake. "I'm glad you've come, princesses." He approached the two while sheathing his sword. "My darlings, even if the world were to be destroyed, I'd put my life on the line as your faithful knight and servant. I will protect you." He went down on one knee.

"Oh my, do you really think you'd be able to protect us? That's awfully arrogant of you, wouldn't you agree? You think that's what a woman wants to hear? Well, you're wrong."

"C'mon, give him a break, Sister Suzuran. Men are just lowly life forms who don't care about anything other than perpetuating their testosterone-laden image. By 'protecting us' he is actually attempting to disguise the fact that he is weak and unable of even protecting himself."

"You're such a clever girl, Hinagiku."

"Don't you think that's a little harsh? Fine then, what do women like you want to hear?"

"Maybe something like, 'I would never leave my lover alone.'" Another girl came in with Haruhi under her arm. "'If we fight, it'll be together. If we fail, we fail together. Even if I were to die, I promise you that I will never leave your side, my love.'" She spun Haruhi around before going to one knee and kissing Haruhi's knuckles.

"Benibara, we thought you'd never show."

"What are we going to do with you?"

"So tell us where you found this lovely young lady."

"I just met her outside of the school. She may be dressed as a boy but I knew the truth. She has such pretty, maidenly eyes."

"Uh...thanks?"

"Wow, her skin is incredibly soft."

"Isn't it, though?" The girls were rubbing Haurhi's face, arm, and leg like a bunch of weirdos. "I think this one's going to be a little diamond in the rough."

"Don't go touching my Haruhi without asking my permission!"

"Leave her alone!" The tallest brunette punched Tamaki right in his cheek.

"She punched me! She's so violent!" Tamaki cried while holding his cheek and scooting back to the others. "Sin! Save the princess!"

"Isn't the dragon supposed to trap the princess?" I asked while standing and stretching.

"We're changing up the fairytale!"

"I guess the rumors were true. You guys are just a bunch of weak, little punks with no sense between you."

"Who are you calling a weak little punk?" I had to look up at the girl since she was much taller and wearing heels. She paused while looking down at me, then her face twisted with anger before she grabbed me.

"Which of you did this to her?! Her hair, her face- You've made her look more like a dirty boy than sweet Haruhi!" I heard gasps and my eyes widened.

"You're mistaken. Sin is a boy."

"You men can't fool me, I know a maiden when I see one."

"No, seriously, Sin is a boy." The twins pointed as I pushed the girl off of me.

"And not afraid to beat some a-" A hand quickly covered my mouth while dragging me back. Haruhi stepped between the girl and I while waving her hand.

"They're not trying to fool you, Sin really is a boy. He was just born with a more feminine body than most boys." Haruhi explained, and even though I was irritated by this girl, it actually felt really good to have the Hosts backing me.

"You mean....I....held a boy?!"

"Uh-oh, I think I saw fire." "Here, have some water." The twins popped off while holding out a bottle to me. I glared while pulling down the hand that was over my mouth.

"I'm not a real dragon!"

"Who knows?" "You are the 'beast type', after all!"

"Come on, Sin. Let's just go have some cake." Honey grabbed my wrist, dragging me away from the group as I shot a glare at the tall brunette.

"Ooo, there goes more fire."

~

Walking into the Host Club late, I froze at the scene in the room. I blinked a few times to make sure I wasn't seeing things, but no....everyone but Haruhi and Mori really were in frilly dresses. They even had wigs and thick makeup on.

It was just utter silence as I looked at them and they looked at me.

"Don't look at us that way, Sin." "We know we're cute!" Hikaru and Kaoru winked and sent a kiss my way, and I couldn't take it anymore. Bursting into laughter, I couldn't fathom why the hosts were dressed like princesses or why Mori was in such a wild outfit, but it was utterly hilarious to walk in on.

"H-Haruhi....what....what did I miss?" I managed through laughs and she smiled.

"They got jealous about the Zuka Club inviting me to their school."

"So they....do _this?_ "

"They certainly are goofballs."

"Oh, they're f****ing something." I paused, then laughed even more since Mori had covered my cursing by shaking his tambourine.

~

"Thanks again for helping me. I honestly didn't expect to see you there, either." Haruhi gave a thoughtful look as we walked next to each other down the street, having a grocery bag in each hand. I felt my ears get warm as I glanced away.

"Uh, well, about that...." I cleared my throat. "The boys were right about me liking commoner snacks."

"Oh, right. And you can only get those in a commoner store." She had a teasing tone in her voice.

"They're just too good." I groaned, and Haruhi chuckled before our attention went to a crowd in front of the apartments Haruhi lived in.

"Sin, that's not your car, is it?"

"No. I got dropped off at the grocery store."

"Then who...." Her voice trailed off as the driver came around and opened the door for Tamaki. Then the other Hosts began to pile out and Haruhi hit her head against a lamp pole. "Please tell me you didn't tell them where I live."

"I didn't, but Kyoya no doubt has your address in his file for you."

"The words 'shabby', 'cramped', and 'run-down' are absolutely forbidden!"

"Right!"

"Yes, sir!"

"Don't say anything that might offend Haruhi or her father and cause them to ask us to leave." Tamaki waved his hands while talking.

"Well, it's too late for that. Go away!" Haruhi looked angry while tightening her grip on the shopping bags.

"Haruhi!"

"That pink dress is pretty cute!"

"Shut up! Get the Hell outta here!"

"Haruhi' so mad, she actually cursed at us! Sin, you're such a bad influence on sweet Haruhi!"

"Speak for yourself." I popped off and Tamaki did a double-take.

"Wait, Sin?! What are you doing here? And with Haruhi?!" He pointed an accusing finger at me. "Wait, were you two on a d-d-d-d-date?!"

"Haruhi's a girl and I'm gay, so no." I raised the bags in my hands. "I'm helping her carry groceries."

"Come on, Sin." Haruhi sighed while walking up the steps to the second floor of the apartments. The others were following close behind, and she shot them a look. "Okay, here's the deal, I'm only giving you guys a quick peek. 3 seconds, then you all go home, got it?"

"Look, I brought you a gift, Haru!" Honey rose a blue box with a ribbon. "I know you love cake. There's both chocolate and strawberry!"

"Fine, I guess I'll make some tea." Haruhi rose her key to unlock the door. She went inside with me following behind her before was took our shoes off at the door.

"What a hovel."

"Shut up!"

"A wood-built 2 bedroom unit. That's normal for a commoner family of 2."

"Haruhi's such a pipsqueak. At least we know she won't hit her head on the low ceilings."

"Well, I think it's a super-cute little room!"

"You don't have to struggle to compliment it." Haruhi made a face while setting down the groceries in the kitchen area.

"Hold on, are we supposed to take off our shoes, too?" Honey questioned while looking at the shoes by the door.

"Please, if you don't mind."

"Do you hear that? We have to take our shoes off! It's kinda like going to the dojo, huh?"

"Yeah."

"Do you have any slippers for us, Haruhi?"

"Wait, the room's covered with tatami mats."

"In that case, we don't need slippers."

"Great! Thanks for inviting us in!"

"Ow."

"Be careful. That light bulb's just handing from the ceiling."

"That's my cue to leave." I turned on my heel, but a vice-like grip grabbed my arm to stop me.

"Don't you dare leave me with them." Haruhi had a dark look on her face and I didn't know whether to laugh or be concerned.

"O-Okay." I nervously sweat until she let me go and set to brewing some tea the twins had brought.

"Okay guys, the tea's ready. I'm sorry that not all of the cups match." Haruhi set down the cups as we took a seat at the table.

"Come on, Haru!" Honey pulled out the cakes. "You can choose your cake first."

"You sure, Honey?"

"Go ahead. We're rich. We eat this kinda stuff all the time."

"Then, in that case.... I'll have the strawberry."

"Okay, Haru!" Honey set down a cake with five strawberries on top of it. "What about you, Sin?" The bright-eyed boy turned to me, and I held my chin.

"Mm. I don't know, they both look so good. Mmm." I furrowed my brows while trying to decide. "I think I'll go with chocolate this time."

"Here you go!" He handed me a wedge of chocolate cake before passing out the rest to the others. A strawberry was placed onto my plate and I quirked up a brow.

"You can have my strawberries so you can have a bit of both." Mori said while placing more of the red fruits onto my plate.

"You sure?"

"Yeah." He nodded.

"Thanks!" I stacked the strawberries onto my cake.

"Eating all that cake sure whet my appetite." Honey sighed with content once his cake was gone.

"Yeah, isn't it lunchtime about now?"

"Well then, what's for lunch?"

"Would you guys quit being so happy-go-lucky all the time?" Haruhi asked.

"We'll take care of it. We did drop in unexpectedly." Kyoya stood up from the short table. "So we'll pay for lunch. Why don't you just order all of us some of your favorite sushi?"

"Thanks, but no thanks. I know that if I let you guys pay, I'll only regret it later."

"Oh, don't worry, Haruhi. We'll just pay for it from the photos of you we auctioned off." Kyoya whipped out a gold card from his pocket.

"So I'm really paying for it after all. Well, if that's what you want, I do have a friend who runs a nice little sushi shop nearby, so I can just give him a call. Their stuff's pretty high quality." Haruhi said before Tamaki handed her a note that only made her angry after reading it. "I know. I could figure that out on my own."

"I'd really love it if you made us something for lunch, Haru!"

"I guess I could whip something up, but it's gonna take me some time."

"We can wait!" Honey threw his fists into the air while grinning.

"I'm gonna have to go to the supermarket again."

"We're coming, too!" "We want to see a commoners' supermarket!"

"Me, too! Me, too!"

"This could be a learning experience."

"Yay! Commoners' supermarket! Commoners' supermarket!"

"This way, children." I waved my hands while herding the Hosts out of Haruhi's apartment.

"Oh, Sin? You came to visit?" I looked up to see Haruhi's dad coming home while still in women's clothing.

"I just ran into Haruhi at the supermarket."

"Oh, you helped her with the groceries, didn't you? What a sweet, young man." He pinched my cheeks while grinning. "How's the cooking coming along?"

"Uh, really well." I rubbed my cheeks.

"That's wonderful to hear! Don't make yourself a stranger around here, dear!" He waved with a smile and walked away.

"Do you know that woman, Sin?" Honey asked me when I reached the others.

"Sort of, that's Haruhi's dad." I saw the looks on their faces and waved my hand. "He works at a cross-dressing bar."

"Let's go meet him!" The twins raced right back up to the apartment.

"Oh, goodness." I sighed.

"I get it. You must be the other members of the Host Club I've heard so much about." Ranka smiled as we were all sat back down at the short table while Tamaki was sulking in the corner. "You're a fine-looking bunch of men. I'm not sure which of you I like best. What about you, Haruhi? I tell you what, why don't you boys go ahead and call me Ranka? That's the professional name I use at the cross-dressing bar I work at."

"Professional name? You mean, like a stage name?"

"Exactly like that, Mitsukuni."

"Hold on! How did you know my name, sir?"

"You two are 3rd years like Sin; Mitsukuni Haninozka and Takashi Morinozuka. And the two of you are first years in the same class as Haruhi. You're the Hitachin twins, but I'm not sure which one of you is which! I've heard a lot about you!"

"What? So Haruhi told you about us?"

"No. Kyoya told me about you two over the phone."

"You know, you really are a beautiful person, Ranka." Kyoya smiled as the two gave a small high-five.

"Say what?!"

"Kyoya!"

"We've been entrusted with the care of his precious daughter, it's only natural that we introduce ourselves and give him periodic reports. Ordinarily, that would be your job, wouldn't it?"

"I'm impressed the Club has such a capable president. But wait a minute, you're only the vice-president, aren't you Kyoya? I guess that president of yours is pretty much good for nothing, huh?"

"You never mentioned this to me, Dad! Why didn't you say that you've been getting calls from Kyoya?!"

"What am I supposed to do, Haruhi? You rarely tell me anything about school, and all Sin talks about when he's here is food."

"So that makes it okay to talk behind my back?"

"Sin....how many times have you been over here?" The twins looked at me with narrowed eyes and I slowly turned away from them.

"C'mon, senpai, would you please stop growing mushrooms in other people's closets?!"

"Haruhi, the thing about you is....you're cute even when you're angry!" Ranka latched onto Haruhi while rubbing his cheek on her head. "Wait, Haruhi, where are you going?"

"I have to go shopping." My head whipped around as I gave big puppy-dog eyes. "Only Sin can come."

"Yes!" I hopped over the table and slid my shoes on at the door.

"Aw, how come he gets to go?"

"Because he knows how to behave." Haruhi went out the door while I gave a cocky grin to the others.

"Bye-bye!" I waved before following after Haruhi.

~

"Sin, what do you think of these two?" Haruhi questioned while holding up two nearly identical vegetables. Leaning down a bit, I sniffed at the two before pointing at the one in her left hand.

"That one smells fresher."

"Really? They smell the same to me."

"Mm-hm. Trust me, this one's better."

"You're usually right." Haruhi chuckled and set the one I'd picked into her basket. "Your sensitive nose really comes in handy when picking ingredients."

"Only if I know what they're supposed to smell like."

"That's true. How about these?"

"Mm.... This one."

"How about we split the list to go faster? I'm not sure the others are behaving back home with my dad."

"Sure."

"Great. You can use your nose for the vegetables then." She smiled while ripping the list she'd made while walking to the store in half.

"Meet back up in the front?"

"Sounds good." Haruhi gave a small wave before walking off, and I turned to the fresh produce. Glancing to the list, then to the signs, I found the vegetables she wanted and sniffed through them to find the best.

"Those aren't flowers, silly. Why are you smelling those?"

"....Honey?" I furrowed my brows at the blond sitting in a shopping cart with Mori pushing it. "All of you are here, aren't you?"

"Yup!" He grinned with flowers around his head and I sighed.

"I know these aren't flowers, by the way. I'm checking which ones are better."

"You can do that by smell?" He tapped his chin while tilting his head.

"Yeah. Here, see if you can try." I held out two carrots to Honey and he started to sniff at them.

"Hmm.... Nope. They smell the same to me. Why don't you try, Takashi?" Honey looked over his shoulder and the taller boy walked around the cart before bending down to smell the carrots. His nose even twitched a bit like a rabbit's.

"It's subtle but....this one smells more....earthy." He pointed to the one in my right hand, and I grinned.

"Yeah! And this one smells a bit like cardboard. That means the cardboard carrot was packed longer than the earthy one, so the earthy one is fresher!"

"What are all the vegetables for, anyway?" Honey asked while seeing the list tucked between my fingers.

"Haruhi thought it'd be best to make a stewpot since there's a lot of us."

"Oh, why don't we help you get the rest? We've got a cart!" Honey pat his chariot and I chuckled.

"All right. We need some potatoes next."


	9. Silly

"Welcome!"

"Oh my, what an unusually young guest. Well, glad you're here, my little lost kitty-cat." Tamaki waved his hand to the child that wandered into the Host Club. "Little kitty-cat, why have you come to see us today?" The little girl in pig-tails looked up in wide-eyed wonder at the boys dressed as police officers.

And once again, I was sitting on the window sill because of the ridiculous outfit I was stuck in. While everyone else was an officer, I was a criminal in a black and white striped jumpsuit. There were even broken handcuffs dangling from my wrists, and I knew all too well that Kyoya was milking the 'bad boy' look I had.

"It's a reverse harem!" The girl pointed and we all froze. "This is a reverse harem!"

"That can't be right. I must've heard wrong. Maybe there's still some water in my ear from when I went swimming."

"Water in the ear, that's gotta be it!" "I'm sure we just heard her wrong. There's no way this cute, little girl said the words 'reverse harem'."

"There's debauchery here! Yay! There's debauchery here, isn't there?!" She began to bounce up and down and I quickly got to my feet.

"Is no one else concerned by how little kids keep getting in here?! Whose child is this?!" I rose my voice while pointing at the kid. However, as soon as her eyes landed on me, she burst into tears.

"No! The Villain!"

"V....Villain?"

"Sin! You're scaring her!" Tamaki shot me a look and I made a face.

"Wha- I didn't do anything!"

"Police!" The kid whined while pointing at me.

"You're under arrest."

"Wait, what?!" My eyes went wide as Mori put my hands behind my back. "I didn't do anything!"

"That's what they all say." Honey wagged his finger at me with a disapproving look on his face.

"Guys, come on." I nervously sweat while hearing the cuffs click into place around my wrists.

"To the cell with the villain!" Honey pointed before marching and I had a feeling I was going to be seeing that ceiling cage again.... "I thought you were better than this, Sin." The blond shook his head, and sure enough, the ceiling cage came down over me.

"W-Wait, you're not actually going to leave me in here because of that kid, are you?"

"Just play along. Look, it's making her feel better." Honey glanced over to the little girl and I started to sulk in the middle of the floor.

"At least give me snacks...." I whined and Mori tossed some bags through the bars. Perking up, I rolled back to bring my arms to the front before sitting criss-cross and ripping open a bag of chips.

~

Digging through the cabinets, I furrowed my brows since all I was finding was instant coffee mix and tea. Storming into the main room, I slammed my hand onto the table in front of Tamaki.

"Snacks. Where?"

"Honey got a cavity. There will be no snacks until it is dealt with."

"No snacks? At all?"

"None."

"Then what am I supposed to eat?"

"Surely you can wait until you get home to eat. Until then, enjoy the drinks."

"I mean, I can wait, but _it's not the same_."

~

"Sin! Hey, Sin!"

"Hm?"

"Wanna have some cake together?" Honey smiled while laying the cuteness on thick.

"Su- Oi!" I pointed as my eyes narrowed. "You're not allowed sweets until your cavity is better!"

"Don't be a meanie, Sin!" Honey then began to dig through my pockets, looking for any sweets I might have on me. "Where are they?!"

"I don't have anything on me!"

"But you always do!"

"You're too late, Honey. Mori already made me empty out my pockets." The blond began to tear up and sniffle, giving me those big puppy-dog eyes. Jerking my gaze up, I quickly walked away. Hearing light footsteps behind me, I knew Honey was following after me with that look still on his face.

He may play cute and innocent, but there'd been enough times where I saw he was actually really smart and good at using his baby face to get what he wanted. And right now, what he really wanted, was sweets.

"Sin."

"Mm-mm."

"Sin."

"Mm-mm."

"Sin!"

"Nuh-uh!"

"Si-in!"

"I'm not looking. I'm not looking, and you can't make me."

" _Sin!_ " Honey grabbed my sleeve before hopping on my back like a monkey. He crawled onto my shoulder like he would Mori and grabbed my face to make me look at him.

"Honey!" I quickly closed my eyes while trying to get the shorter 3rd year off of me.

"Come on, Honey, you can't make Sin give you swee- Ah!" Tamaki screamed just before Honey flew off of me. "Somebody help me! He's eating my arm off!" Tamaki was running around, trying to shake off Honey biting his hand like a piranha.

"Mitsukuni, don't take this out on other people." Mori stood up to walk over to the two blonds.

"You saved me. I thought I was a goner." Tamaki sighed while rubbing his hand.

"It's disgraceful."

"Takashi....you idiot!" Honey grabbed Mori and flipped him over his shoulder, sending the larger boy flying a few feet away. Mori even bounced a couple of times across the floor like a skipping stone, and my eyes went wide. "A little bit isn't gonna hurt me! You're so mean! You're such a hardhead! That's it, I hate you! I hate you, Takashi!" Honey then ran away while sobbing.

"Honey!" Tamaki ran after Honey as he slammed open the doors to continue down the hall.

"Hey, Mori." "That was harsh. Will you be alright?" The twins asked, but no reply came as Mori stood up and went to walk away. However, like before, he was clumsy and knocked over a table. The dishes crashed onto the floor as the round table rolled away. "Wow, Senpai, it looks like he really got to you." "I don't know what's going on, but it seems like you're self-destructing."

"Mori, he didn't mean it." I said lowly while gently touching his shoulder. "He's just upset and hurting." Mori barely even looked at me, but the expression on his face struck a chord.

"It was on purpose." Haruhi spoke up. "Mori, by any chance, have you been acting like this because you're trying to get Honey to hate you?"

"Why would he do that?" "It makes no sense. That would be like the end of the world for Mori." "Why would he do it on purpose?"

"Well, maybe because he was trying to punish himself. I'm right, aren't I?"

"....Yeah, you are. This was my fault. Mitsukuni has a cavity....because I'm careless. Twice before his naptime, I forgot to make him brush his teeth."

"But that's not really your responsibility." "He should know better."

"But if Mitsukuni has to get false teeth, it'll be my fault." Mori held his head while clenching his jaw.

"Don't worry. That's not gonna happen."

"Wow, what a pessimist."

"I wouldn't be able to live with myself right now if he hadn't thrown me down."

"Because he felt at fault, Mori wanted some sort of punishment from Honey to make up for his failure."

"While that certainly makes for a nice story and everything," "It was just a little cavity, right?"

"Mori, it'll be okay. If you just talk to Honey about it, I'm sure he'll understand. You don't have to feel so guilty." Grabbing his arm, I pulled him to his feet. "Come on, let's go find Honey."

"But-"

"No 'but's. If you two are at odds, I was told the best way to fix it is to sit down and talk it out."

"I'm sorry! I'm so sorry, Takashi!" Honey came running in while crying. "I promise! I won't forget to brush my teeth again! I won't forget!" He sniffled and Mori knelt to comfort him.

~

"Sin! Let's have cake!" Honey came running over, a grin so big it looked like flowers were all around him. He came right up the table, looking excited especially since his cavity was now gone.

"All right." He climbed into the chair next to me with Usa-chan under his arm.

"Hey, Sin?" One of the girls sat across from my held her chin while lightly blushing.

"Hm?"

"You say how much you like sweet things.... Isn't Honey really sweet?" She asked and the girls began to giggle. I glanced to Honey from the corner of my eye, seeing him happily serve up slices of cake onto plates.

"He is, isn't he? Such an innocent lamb to come prancing right over." I ruffled Honey's hair while looking at him with a soft gaze. From the looks the girls were giving, it seemed that wasn't quite enough. I wasn't sure I was comfortable playing up this 'beast' persona with Honey, but the guests' happiness was apparently a priority in the Host Club.

"Here's your cake!" Honey smiled while sliding over a plate as I was mentally groaning.

"Thank you, Honey. But....you look more delicious." I lowly growled while brushing my knuckles over his jaw. Squealing told me _that_ was good enough, and I was about to back off until someone grabbed my collar and pulled me back.

"Sin.... Are you really that hungry for sweet things that you're drooling?" I knew I wasn't actually drooling, but Mori slowly swiped his thumb over my bottom lip as his fingers curled under my chin. "You're going to make a mess." His tone was calm and low, but my mind was screaming as alarms were going off.

The girls were practically screaming now at the display, and Mori let my collar go. This was twice now. Twice that Mori had fed the girls' fantasies while leaving me flustered. I didn't know why, but any other scenes with the other hosts didn't get any reaction out of me except wanting to laugh or cringe. But both scenes with Mori?

I just might have a heart attack.

"Sin, you're so silly! Just eat your cake." Honey giggled.


	10. Refreshing

"This is cosplay."

"It's not."

"This is most definitely cosplay."

"You're overthinking it."

"Renge, I'm literally dressed as Inuyasha. The only thing you left out was the hair."

"I'm surprised you know who that is!" She waved a fan in front of her face as I stood in the grass a few feet away.

"Why does no one else have to wear this? I literally have _dog ears_."

"The 'beast type' always rebels."

"I think you're just wanting to stick me in as many ridiculous costumes as possible."

"They're not ridiculous." Renge turned her face away. "They suit you."

"You-"

"Don't you know? It makes you look very manly and cool."

"I think this Host Club has infected me because I didn't use to care about that."

"It's not the club, Sin. It's the buds of love."

"Huh?" I openly looked at Renge like she was stupid.

"You actually like the work. No, love it. You adore not being feared and you adore the kind compliments. If you know Inuyasha, then you no doubt also actually like the cosplay." She closed her fan to point it at me. "This, Sin, is the beast's soft side! His inner, hidden core! The desire to be loved and adored! But the inner battle of not wanting to hurt those that get too close makes you push them away." She dramatically leaned back while putting the back of her hand to her forehead. "Such a lonely existence. To be surrounded by people but to be utterly alone."

Sighing, I walked away as she was lost in her own monologue.

~

"How come _I'm_ dressed like a dog boy when it's _Tamaki_ acting like a dog?" I popped off since the blond was happily barking like a little dog while giving puppy-dog eyes to Kyoya.

"Because you're the 'beast type', and he's just an idiot." I couldn't help but snort.

"Then it's settled, we'll be helping the Newspaper Club." Kyoya adjusted his glasses after putting down some rules. "Sin, I want you on your best behavior."

"Wha- Why are you singling _me_ out?" Kyoya only looked at me with a flat expression and the others joined in, having the same look on their faces. "O-Oi." They continued to look at me in silence and I felt my ears heat up. "Okay! I get it! I'm usually the one getting in trouble!"

~

"The Daruma doll fell over!" Tamaki called out before looking over his shoulder, causing the Hosts to freeze until he turned away. "The Daruma doll fell over!" The twins and Honey struck a pose. "The Daruma doll fell over!" We were getting closer and the trio would strike a different pose each time we had to freeze. "I saw you move Hikaru and Kaoru!"

We were playing some commoner games while the Newspaper Club stood by with cameras, looking uncertain and shocked at what we were doing. When we started playing kick the can, we all ran after Tamaki sent the empty can flying.

Climbing up into a tree, I laid flat against the thick branch and waited. I found myself actually enjoying these childish games. It may be silly, but....it was nice to get to participate rather than watch from afar. I didn't grow up with siblings or friends to play with, so getting to play with the Host Club now was....fun.

I did have one friend when I was in elementary, at least, but that friendship soon died when I went into homeschooling. I wasn't lonely, per se, I did grow up spending a lot of time with my parents. However, the more time I spent with the Host Club, I saw that it wasn't quite the same as spending time with friends around your own age.

A soft smile pulled at my lips when I saw Kyoya walk right past the tree I was in without realizing I was there at all. He was alone, so I knew he hadn't found any of the others yet.

Staying in my spot, I continued to wait to either be found or to win the game. Resting my cheek on my hand, I closed my eyes to try and pass the time with a nap.

~

"Found you!" I jolted awake from Honey shouting and I scrambled to catch the branch because I was slipping. Honey was giggling from on top of Mori's shoulders and I sighed while now in the giant's arms since he had caught me to keep me from hitting the ground. "You really are like a cat napping anywhere."

"It's not my fault everyone takes so long to find me." Glancing to the sky, I saw the sun was actually setting now. "Goodness, how long was I asleep?"

"Well, it's been a few hours since the game started. Everyone's been looking for you." Honey smiled before turning to look over his shoulder. "Guys! We found Sin!"

"It looks more like you _caught_ Sin."

"Honey made me fall out of a tree."

"You were in a tree?"

"And Kyoya walked right past me." I held up a peace sign as I grinned.

"I will admit, I did not expect you to....climb a tree."

"Sin was even sleeping up there."

"Isn't that uncomfortable?" Haruhi questioned, and I shook my head.

"Not really, no."

"Then again," "You do sleep on the window sills."

"It is a bit weird." Haruhi chuckled. "But I guess being weird makes you fit right in."

"That feels both like a compliment and an insult."

~

"Oh, my! What dashing young men you are! These hunks must belong to Haruhi! Why don't you call me Misuzu-chi?"

"He's an old friend of Ranka's." Kyoya explained as the bed-and-breakfast owner was gushing and wiggling with delight. "They used to work together at the same shop years ago."

"Well, naturally you would know."

"Kill me." Haruhi popped off.

"I went into business for myself two years ago, and believe you me running this adorable little pension is like living a fairytale!"

"So then, is Haru like your indentured servant?" Honey asked.

"She's more like an unpaid employee. This also happens to be Ranka's preferred method for keeping track of his daughter while he's working." Kyoya smiled with pushing up his glasses.

"What the-? How do you know all of this stuff?"

"Take my little girl under your wing, he says. He practically begged me. And since I still can't afford the expense of hired help, it works out for everyone. She's a model employee, really." Misuzu said while swaying Haruhi back and forth. "It's such a shame I can't pay her anything. Oh, tell me what you boys think of this cute little apron she's wearing. I made it myself!"

"You are quite an exquisite seamstress!"

"Sin, you're awfully quiet, are you okay?"

"He's fine."

"'Fine' as in I was woken early this morning and drug out of bed one to be stuck in a loud helicopter."

"Oh, are you tired, sweetie?" Misuzu held his cheek while looking at me. "I can let you borrow a cot for a nap if you like."

"Just give Sin a window," "He'll fall asleep in the sun like an old dog."

"Oh, how adorable!"

~

"Is....Tamaki hammering nails in a fence?"

"It's for the 'competition' they made up while you were napping." Haruhi sighed while wiping down a table. "They're trying to get points of approval from Misuzu to see who gets the last guest room." She then paused and looked up at me with an expression like something had dawned on her. "Sin, _you_ could get that room!"

"....Do you want me to?"

"Please, if you could. You're more likely to hole up in there and just read rather than bug me while I work." She made a face and I chuckled.

"I can try, but there's no guarantee. What am I supposed to do?"

"Just odd jobs Misuzu needs done."

"Gotcha." Nodding, I then went to find Misuzu. "Excuse me, Misuzu-chi?"

"Hm?"

"Is there anything you need me to do? I'd like to help out, too."

"What all can you do, dear?" Misuzu crossed his arms while looking down at me.

"I'm strong if you need something carried, I know how to cook, make tea-"

"Can you smile?"

"Uh....yeah?"

"Let me see it." Misuzu held his chin while furrowing his brows. Hesitating out of confusion, I smiled anyways before Misuzu held his cheeks. "Oh, now that's refreshing! It'd be wonderful if you could serve tea to our guests."

"Can do." I chuckled.

~

"Earl Grey and jasmine." I sat down the two cups in front of the girls. "Please, if you need anything, just let me know, little lambs." I froze when I realized the slip of the Host persona. Shit, please tell me that's not becoming a habit....

"L-Lambs?" The brunette covered her mouth with her hand and I had to quickly think to cover my ass.

"Ah, I'm sorry. You two are just so cute, I couldn't help myself." I nervously laughed, hoping they'd buy it as I rubbed the back of my neck. They started to giggle, and I felt relieved.

"You think we're that cute?" The black-haired girl asked and I smirked.

"Absolutely." They giggled again and I left to get tea for other customers. Sighing, I mentally berated myself for letting that slip out. I was glad I could think fast enough to come up with something on the spot, but if I wasn't careful, Misuzu would deduct points and I wouldn't be able to help Haruhi.

Getting another teacup onto a tray, I went to the outside deck and brought Kyoya his drink.

"Are you not participating?"

"No. I'm surprised you are." He looked at me as I set his tea down.

"Haruhi asked me to. I'd leave her be in quiet."

"Ah, that is true." Kyoya smiled, lacing his finger together as he leaned back in the chair. "You and Haruhi do seem to get along rather well. Especially with how you two often visit each other after school hours."

"Well, it just started out as cooking lessons. Then it turned into helping with homework. Well, not actually helping, more like just doing homework together." I saw the look on his face and waved my hand. "I mean, you know how smart and independent Haruhi is. But she doesn't actually like to be alone all of the time, so she invites me over some nights her dad's working late to do homework together."

"I understand. You also get something out of it as well, don't you?"

"The same thing, pretty much. I like the quiet, but it's nice to have company in the quiet."

"Oh, like Mori?" I paused, then tilted my head.

"Actually....yeah. There's been a few times we just sat and read together before the girls came in."

"You get along with Honey as well, and he's not quiet."

"He is when eating." I chuckled. "But Honey's also really nice, so he's easy to get along with."

"That is true." Kyoya nodded while picking up his teacup. "Keep up the good work, Sin."

"Will do." Going back inside, I put together tea for the last small group of girls waiting near a piano. "Green, Ginger, and Hibiscus. Is that all you ladies wanted?"

"Yes, thank you."

"You're welcome." I smiled, then turned to leave the table and glanced out of the windows when I heard the two from earlier.

"Oh!"

"Gorgeous!" They were looking outside at Mori chopping wood while shirtless. I ran into a table since I wasn't paying attention and fumbled to catch the tray and right the table before it fell. My face flushed with embarrassment as I heard giggles.

Taking in a deep breath, I sighed. Hiding my face behind the tray, I went to set it down since all customers had been served.

"Sin, wonderful timing." Misuzu smiled at me. "Could you be a dear and fix the fence? Tamaki, that poor boy, he's sweet but absolutely useless when it comes to repairs."

"Oh, yes. I can certainly do that." I tried to keep an even tone while being polite. Setting down the tray, I then went outside where the wood and nails were set out. Observing the part of the fence that looked fine, I saw how the nails held the wood together and hummed.

I certainly had no experience in fixing a fence, but I was a quick learner. I could put two and two together, and this seemed rather straight forward. Picking up the hammer from the toolbox, I went to pulling out the bent-up nails Tamaki had left behind.

Once the nails were out, I put the broken boards into a pile while salvaging the ones that could still be used. Glancing around, I saw the chair Honey had been sitting in before. Dragging it over, I used it to help keep the boards even as I nailed them on.

Hours passed as I worked until a cold bottle tapped my shoulder. Looking up, I saw Mori crouched beside me while holding the water out to me.

"You should take a break. Working too much all at once will exhaust you more."

"Thanks." I took the water while dropping the hammer. Wiping the sweat from my forehead with my arm, I then opened the bottle and drank.

"It looks good so far." Mori said while looking over the fence.

"Thank you! I'm gonna have to give it a coat of paint, though. Looks like Tamaki scraped some off."

"I can help if you want."

"Nah, you don't gotta worry about it. I can handle this." I waved my hand.

"Don't overwork yourself, then." His tone was calm but serious as he ruffled my hair. I saw a soft smile pull at his lips and my ears got hot. Watching him get up and walk away, I chewed the inside of my cheek.

"Damn it, Sin." I muttered to myself since I knew I was catching feelings for Mori. It's not like I had a chance, Mori was straight and I was a guy. Not to mention I highly doubted I'd be his type even if he wasn't straight. I was intimidating, aggressive, freakishly strong, and short-tempered.

Mori came off as someone more interested in 'cute' and soft-spoken. So, either way, I had a snowball's chance in Hell. I'd have to find a way to crush these feelings before they developed any more.

Turning back to the fence, I went back to work. Classical piano music began to play from the pension, filling the air with its soft tune. Sighing through my nose, I tried to enjoy the sound while hammering in nails.

In the end, the twins ended up winning the contest.


	11. Claws and Roses

"Sin! Where have you been?" Honey was already pouting as I walked into the room.

"Business trip with my parents." I said while scratching the back of my head.

"Oh, okay." Honey smiled, but the twins stopped in their tracks as they walked past. The two looked at each other with the same expression, then turned to me.

"Hey, Sin...." "What does your family do?"

"Huh?"

"Our families run companies," "Or multiple," "Which is how we're rich." "But what does _your_ family do? How are _you_ rich?"

"Oh.... That's actually a good question." Tamaki perked up as he looked at me. "We've never heard of any important Nashi company or group."

"Really? I thought the name sounded a bit familiar." Honey tapped his chin while looking up as if he were thinking. "But you're right, I can't place it."

"Haruhi, what does Sin's family do?"

"....I actually don't know. Sin's parents were never home when I visited."

"I assumed Kyoya told you guys since he told you everything else." I narrowed my eyes at the black-haired boy and he simply pushed up his glasses. "Blacksmithing." I could practically hear a record scratching from how the other Hosts looked at me. "Oh, I'm sorry my parents don't run a medical company or are the chairman of a rich ass school."

"That explains your brash behavior," "The forges are in your veins." The twins sagely nodded and my eyebrow twitched.

"I thought blacksmithing didn't make a lot of money." Tamaki furrowed his brows. "Especially in this modern era."

"Mitsukuni, the Nashi name was familiar to you because they specialize in weapons." Mori calmly walked over. "Haninozukas and Morinozukas have had dealings with Sin's family in the past."

"Wait, what?" My brows furrowed as Mori was now digging in my backpack. "What are you doing?" He pulled out what he was searching for and everyone's eyes went wide while I began to nervously sweat. "H-How did you know that was in there?"

"I saw you practicing."

"Oh!" Honey looked like flowers were surrounding his face as he looked at the claw blades in Mori's hand. "Sin, we've gotten swords from your family, haven't we?"

"Maybe, I don't know. I've barely been introduced to the actual business side of my family."

"Sin! How long have you been carrying that around?!" Tamaki screeched while pointing at the weapon in Mori's hold.

"Since I started taking combat lessons. Let me tell you, my dad was _thrilled_ when I showed interest. Even Mom was gushing and trying to get me into blacksmithing right then and there." I said while taking back the claw blades. "These seem to be what I'm best with, but the Nashi family makes all sorts of things."

"If our police force didn't mainly use firearms, the Ootori family would no doubt seek out the Nashi family to commission weaponry from them." Kyoya stated while writing something down.

"Sin, _when_ did you start combat lessons?"

"Mm....shortly after we came back from our trip in Okinawa." I replied and Tamaki paled even more. "Oh, relax, it stays in my bag most of the time."

"Sin, you've gotten into two fights," Tamaki waved his hands.

"That we know of." The twins chimed in.

"Knocked out two people,"

"That we know of."

"And you tell us not to worry about you having.... _that?!_ "

"Honey and Mori can kill someone with their bare hands. I don't see you insisting they were mittens. Though, now that I think about it, I'm not sure mittens would hinder anything."

"They wouldn't." Honey giggled.

"See? Not to mention, my parents would kill me if I used these for anything other than in a dire situation." I waved the claw blades before turning to put them back into my bag.

"You have anger management issues, though!"

"I'm not a monster." I said lowly while closing my bag.

"I-I didn't mean it that way-"

"You're acting like it. I only have it to practice, and the blades have been dulled. If the weapon makes you uncomfortable, just say so and I won't bring it with me when I come here. But don't act like I'd actually use it against someone just because I get angry. If you genuinely think I would....that says more about you than me."

The atmosphere became tense in the room as I looked at Tamaki with a flat expression. He was fumbling for words, unable to make a coherent sentence as he was trying to cover his ass.

"Why is it that my aggression is different from theirs?" I glanced at Mori and Honey as they still stood beside me. "Honey knocked out an entire squad of specially trained police. I knocked out two dimwits to save a couple of girls, and you act like I did something abhorrent. Why? Because I'm not a baby-faced cutie? Because I actually look scary? What is it that makes me different, Tamaki? My hair? My piercings? My eyes?"

"Sin." Mori looked down at me, and it was then that I realized I was growling. "That's enough." Clicking my tongue, I just turned around and left.

~

"You don't have to say anything, but Tamaki actually struck a nerve, didn't he?" Honey said while sitting down next to me in the lunch hall. "Usually, when you get angry, you bare your teeth and yell. But with Tamaki, you didn't even raise your voice." Those blue eyes looked at me as Mori sat down with his tray as well. "You were hurt, not angry."

I simply took a drink from my water while averting my gaze. The sounds of chatter and laughter filled my ears from the other students surrounding us.

"You're actually sensitive about people being scared of you, aren't you?"

"....Yeah."

"Well, I don't think Tamaki is actually scared of you, I think he's more worried about you. He doesn't want you to get in trouble." Honey picked up his fork to start eating and I glanced at him from the corner of my eye. "A lot of people do think you're a bit of a delinquent because of how you look, but we know you're actually really nice." He smiled. "Even the girls that come to the club know you're nice."

"Though, just because people say you're nice, that doesn't mean everyone will know that. Especially with how prone you are to getting aggressive." Mori added while pushing his food around his plate with his fork. "I....I, too, worry about what may happen if the wrong person found out about what you have in your bag."

"I think that's what Tamaki was worried about, too, not just us. I think he might have just said it wrong. You might not have seen it that way because you're so used to people being scared of you instead of scared for you."

"You're awfully insightful today, Honey." I muttered over the rim of my glass.

"Am I?" He giggled. "I'm just trying to help a friend out."

"You told me the best way to deal with being at odds with someone is to talk it out." Mori stated and my gaze drifted to him. "No 'but's either."

"....You're using my own words against me." I saw him softly smile while looking at me.

"It was good advice."

"Let's say you two are wrong, and Tamaki is scared of me. What then? That's not something I can just overlook."

"I'm certain that's not the case. Tamaki enjoys having you in the Host Club. Everyone does."

"Yeah, Sin. We all have a lot of fun together." Honey grinned. Looking at the blond for a few seconds, I then sighed.

"Fine. I'll talk to him."

~

"Before you get the wrong idea, I'm not here to fight. Honey and Mori convinced me to talk to you. Hear you out." I said while standing in front of Tamaki with my hands stuffed into my pockets.

"Sin....I honestly didn't mean to imply that you were a monster." His tone was nervous as he rubbed the back of his neck. "I'm really sorry if I made you feel that way. It truly wasn't my intention."

"Then why treat me differently from Honey or Mori?"

"Because I know whatever mess they get in, they can get out of. I don't know if you could. And carrying around that kind of weapon....it's not exactly normal. Though, thinking about it again, you might not actually see it that way if you come from a family surrounded by weapons." Tamaki rubbed the side of his head.

"No. My family raised me to view blades as a means of protection, not extensions of aggression." I shifted my weight on my feet. "So....you're really not scared of me?"

"Scared of you?" Tamaki looked surprised, then confused. "Why would I be scared of you?" He pointed at himself and I just stared at him before cracking. I softly laughed while shaking my head. "Wait, means of protection? Sin, did you start learning to fight to protect other people?"

"Maybe."

"Awe, Sin! That's so sweet! Come here and give your daddy a hug!"

"I'm not your kid!"

"Nonsense! All of the Hosts are my cute children! Except for Kyoya because he's the mommy." Tamaki came at me with a bear hug.

"You're ridiculous."

"Mama! Sin's using those mean words again!"

~

"Sin Nashi, it took some time, but I've finally got it."

"Huh?"

"You were the hardest to pinpoint, especially since Haruhi was so easy being the 'natural type'." Renge waved her hand and I was simply utterly confused.

"What in the world are you talking about?"

"Your rose, silly! Each Host is represented by a specific rose! Tamaki is the white rose, Kyoya is lavender, Kaoru is orange, Hikaru is pale blue, Honey is pink, Mori is dark blue, and Haruhi is red. Each rose's meaning also represents the Host they signify." Renge smiled before pulling a rose out from behind her back. It was such a deep red that it was almost black. "Your rose is the burgundy rose."

"....Okay?" I quirked up a brow while taking the flower being held out to me. "What does it mean?"

"Hm?"

"You said the colors meant things to match the Hosts. What's burgundy mean?" Looking back to Renge, I saw she was back to sipping tea and not answering. "Is it bad? Is this a bad rose?"

"No rose is a bad rose." Renge scoffed.

"But you're not telling me what it means."

"The burgundy rose symbolizes readiness to commitment, deep passion, and unconscious beauty." Mori said without looking up from his book and I burst into laughter.

"Renge, that's definitely not me."

"I don't know...." "You are always ready to commit to a fight." "And you're very passionate about snacks." The twins popped off while holding their teacups and snickering.

"Oi."


	12. History

"Welcome home, Young Master Sin." The maid bowed to me at the door and I nodded my head in return.

"Thank you, Temari."

"Shall I prepare a snack for you and your friends?"

"Yes, please."

"The usual?"

"Mm." I nodded.

"Understood, Young Master." The brunette walked away and I turned to Mori and Honey.

"The dojo is this way." I pointed, and the duo following me through the house to the back. "Mom might be in there, though."

"We don't mind!" Honey grinned before I slid open the dojo door.

"Oh, Sin! I didn't know you were bringing friends." The tall, redheaded woman smiled from where she stood in the middle of the dojo with a katana. "I would have been better dressed had I known."

"It's fine. They're used to dojo gear."

"Oh?" Mom perked up.

"Hi, Mrs. Nashi! I'm Mitsukuni Huninozuka!" Honey waved.

"Takashi Morinozuka." Mori respectfully bowed.

"No way! You made friends with a Huninozuka and a Morinozuka?"

"You know them?"

"Of course. They're our main buyers for shuriken and kunai." Mom chuckled.

"Good to know my family supplies you guys." I muttered under my sigh.

"I was actually just about to test this katana out. Would you two like to try it?" Mom dropped her stance before holding the sword out.

"Takashi, why don't you?" Honey looked to the taller boy before Mori nodded. He took his shoes off at the door, then stepped onto the tatami mats. My mother was tall, but Mori was still taller than her by a good few inches. They bowed to each other while exchanging hold of the katana.

I watched with curiosity as my mother stepped back while Mori seemed to simply hold the katana. It was like he was getting a feel for it before swinging it at the dummy. For a second, I actually thought he missed, but then the dummy split in half at an angle that made the top half slide to the floor.

"Holy shit...." I mumbled.

"So, what do you think? Be brutally honest." Mom asked but it looked like Mori's eyes were glittering as he looked at the katana.

"It's incredibly well balanced." He said calmly. "It....feels good."

"Great! Most of our swords turn out that way, but each one is also different. You know, has some personality." She chuckled. "So we still test every single one to make sure it feels right. From the look on your face, I'd say you can even feel its soul." Mom crossed her arms while still smiling. "Only great swordsmen can accomplish that."

"Takashi was a national champion in kendo!" Honey pointed.

"Sin! Why do I smell-" Dad cut himself off as he entered the dojo after slamming open the door. He paused, looking at Honey and Mori. "Guests!" He grinned, showing off his sharp teeth.

"I thought you were at work today."

"I got off early. I was rather confused when I smelled you come in with people but none were Haruhi."

"Smelled? You have a sensitive nose, too?"

"I do. You kids staying for dinner?"

"Could we?!" Honey beamed and Dad ruffled his hair.

"Sure you can! Dear, are you showing them how to swordfight?"

"No, he's testing out the katana. This is Takashi Morinozuka, and he's Mitsukuni Honinozuka." Mom clapped a hand onto Takashi's shoulder, then gestured to Honey.

"....Huh?!"

"Right?! So wild, isn't it? I didn't even know they had kids at Ouran."

"How come you _both_ know their families but I'd never heard of them until I met them?"

"Well, you'd know if you were more interested in the business." Dad crossed his arms while raising his brows at me.

"He has to finish his training first, Darling."

"Look, I'm showing interest now, okay?"

"So late in the game, though."

"I'm at least trying."

"Trying? You can't even forge yet!" Dad and I literally butt heads like rams, but he was grinning with his fists on his hips. "Oh-ho? Think you can take on your old man already? You're decades too soon, runt."

"Runt? You're barely taller than me, geezer."

"I can still give you a good ol' fashioned whoopin'!"

"Now, now, you two." Mom grabbed our head while pushing us apart. "We have guests, remember?" I could hear Honey giggling, no doubt finding the display amusing. "What were you kids coming in here for, anyway?"

"They wanted to see the dojo." I waved my hand. "They were curious about where I was training."

"Oh, well, you kids just go ahead and have a look around!" Mom smiled, taking the sword from Mori before ushering Dad out.

"Your parents seem fun." Honey chuckled.

"They are."

"Has anyone ever told you that you look just like your dad?"

"A few." I chuckled.

~

"Young Master Sin, there's no need to pout."

"I'm not."

"You are. I know you were looking forward to Halloween with your friends, but you know how things are." Temari said while folding the basket of clothes to put them away.

"I know." I huffed while sitting in the window seat with my elbow on my knee and my chin in my palm.

"If you want, we can hold a little celebration like we used to."

"I'm not a little kid anymore."

"I know, Young Master. You were so adorable then, simply excited to knock on the doors in the house to get candy."

"I haven't done that in years."

"They were still good memories."

"....Temari....what do you think would happen if they found out?" I questioned while looking at the night sky.

"They can't, Young Master."

"I know, it's just a 'what if'."

"I'm not sure. I don't know them well enough to guess. What do _you_ think might happen?"

"I don't know. Though, knowing them, there's a chance they might not actually be scared."

"Even if you think so, you must keep your secret."

"I know, I know."

"Be sure to not be carried away by any fantasies, Young Master. You are a Nashi and the heir to the forges, you must keep what you are hidden to continue the line." I heard Temari open a drawer. "When you get older, you might be able to find someone to trust, like your father with your mother. But you must be absolutely careful." I sighed through my nose, narrowing my eyes as I continued to look through the window. I saw my reflection in the glass panes, making me click my tongue at what I saw sitting in the window seat.

~

Taking a break from hosting, I didn't much mind how the Host Club was set up. Listening to the water trickle into the bamboo shoot until it dumped and clacked back up was rather relaxing as I enjoyed my tea. Renge had dressed us like the Shinsengumi and the girls were loving it.

My ears twitched when I heard squealing and looked over my shoulder to see Mori stabbing a door.

"We have a trespasser." He calmly said before sliding open the door. From where I sat, however, I couldn't see who he was looking at on the other side.

"Takashi Morinozuka!"

"A surprise attack?!"

"Senpai! Please take me on as your apprentice!"

"Oh, I gotta see this." Getting up, I walked over and peeked around the door to see a redhead with his forehead to the floor.

"Hey, Sin, are you two related? Your hair is so similar." The twins asked.

"Just because we're redheads doesn't mean we're related!"

"Huh?" The guy looked up and we both paused while looking at each other. ....There was something so awfully familiar about that mean look on his face. Narrowing my eyes, he seemed to do the same before I pointed with a shocked expression.

"Ritsu?!"

"Sin?!"

"You two know each other?!"

"Dude, I haven't seen you in forever!" I grinned before hopping around the door and crashed into Ritsu with a hug. I heard gasps that I ignored while holding the boy at arm's length. "I'm surprised you even still remember me!"

"But you remembered me, too! Wait, are you Morinozuka's apprentice?"

"We're friends."

"Seriously?!"

"Wait!" Tamaki raised his hand. "Hold it, stop! Stop! _What_ is happening here?"

"Oh, Tamaki, this is Ritsu Kasanoda. He was my childhood friend before I went into homeschooling."

~

"I said it was Kasanoda! Do you wanna die?" Ritsu growled at the twins, making them and Tamaki jump behind the couch.

"Man, he really is mean-looking."

"Sorry 'bout that." Ritsu apologized as I set down a teacup in front of him. "This always happens 'cause of the way I look. I've always had this mean look, ever since I was born. Even when I was just a tyke, my dad would say, 'Just you wait, my son's gonna be the greatest gangster of all time.' And so, ever since I was a kid, I've been taught how to be the godfather of a gang. My pops was a good teacher and he made me a true gangster. That's great, but everyone's too afraid to come near me. Even my fellas are scared of me. So, I'm all alone. Sin was the only one to never be scared of me."

"Why would I? You were an absolute dork." I swung my arm around the back of Ritsu's neck and started to ruffle his hair. "You cried when I chased you with algae of all things."

"I-It was gross and slimy!" He growled, trying to wave me off as his face turned red with embarrassment. It only made me laugh and I was simply overjoyed to see my old friend again. "Wait....Sin, I might be rememberin' this wrong, but didn't you wear the girl's uniform back then?" His brows furrowed as he looked me over, seeing my face and male uniform.

"No, you remember right."

"Did....Did your family raise you as a girl?!"

"For a little while, yeah. So, what's this about you wanting to be Mori's apprentice?"

"I-I wanted to know how he has so many friends when's he's just as mean-looking as me. He's expressionless, distant, and hardly ever talks. He's got a mug that looks like a watchdog from Hell. How do you got so many friends? What're you doin' that I'm not?" Ritsu turned his gaze to Mori as he sat at a table with Honey. "Please, teach me our secrets! I'm begging you!"

Takashi pinched the bridge of his nose while groaning and looking away from the redhead.

"Hey, Takashi, are you okay?"

"I'm just a little lightheaded."

"What now, boss?" "Should we do something?"

"Just leave him alone, don't get involved. Like he said, he wants to be Mori's apprentice. So, that means Mori decides what to do. This isn't something that any of us should be interfering with."

"Well, I'd offer my help, but I'm not sure exactly what the problem is other than your mean face."

"You're just as mean lookin' as me!"

"Yeah, well, girls like me." Ritsu looked shocked and I stood while running a hand through my hair. "That's right, Ritsu! Ladies love me!"

"What?!"

"Though, with you being gay, that's all one-sided."

"G-" Ritsu choked on the word before looking at me with wide eyes. "You're gay?! But you're so manly!"

"Don't feed on stereotypes, Ritsu."

"Now lift your head, Bossa Nova." Tamaki waved a hand while holding the other over his heart.

"Listen, it's Kasanoda."

"From now on, you may address me as King, okay, Bossa Nova?"

"That's not my name!"

"You listening, Bossa Nova?"

"Yeah."

"There are many differences between you and Mori, but there is also one very definitive thing that you are lacking, and that is a lovely item!" _'What happened to not getting involved?'_ I thought while crossing my arms.

"Lovely item?!"

"Bossa Nova, I would like to introduce you to....a lovely item named Mitsukuni!" Tamaki waved his hand out towards the short blond. "Sure, Mori may be kind of mean-looking and he may seem distant when you first meet him. But what if we put Mitsukuni on his shoulders? Suddenly it's like he's a forest teddy-bear that all the little animals adore. In addition, this lovely item also plays up Mori's strong and silent character. Even silent, just by placing Honey next to him, people begin to have a newfound admiration for Mori. Suddenly he's a quiet, young gentleman. That's the plan." Tamaki pointed. "I'm not exaggerating when I say most of Mori's charm is directly related to his friend, Honey."

"Now that you mention it, Mori...."

"Doesn't really do anything." "Yeah, his position's totally a bust." Mori actually looked shocked by the other Hosts dissing him.

"Takashi? Have you really been using me this entire time?" Honey cried and I had a feeling they were crocodile tears just to mess with Mori. The big guy quickly stood and shook his head.

"I'm sorry, but Honey is on a long-term lease to Mori right now, so, I can't let you borrow him."

"Is Tama telling the truth? Are you renting me?" Mori shook his head even faster.

"Don't worry, I'll come up with something to take his place. Next up to discuss is your disturbing 'Yankee' fashion sense. Now, Hitachin Brothers."

"Sir!"

"It's your job to make this man more fashionable."

"Roger!"

"I can't watch." I covered my face with my hand, knowing the twins were going to no doubt make Ritsu look ridiculous.

~

"If you're trying to follow in Mori's footsteps, then we may need to be more drastic. Mori has Honey, his childhood friend, so you shall have....Sin!" Tamaki plucked me up from my seat and dropped me onto Ritsu.

"Huh?!"

"Boss!" "You only doubled the intimidation!"

"I don't know what you mean. Sin is absolutely adorable, look at those widdle cheeks!" Tamaki pinched my face and I snapped at his hands. The blond yelped, jerking his hands out of reach. "No biting!" We all paused when there was a sound of a teacup breaking.

"Takashi?"

"....Sorry. I think I set it down too quickly."

"H-Hey, Sin?"

"What?" I turned to look up at Ritsu and he was sitting balling his hands into fists at his sides.

"Do you like to play....kick the can?"

"Sort of. I usually don't get found until hours later, though." I chuckled.

"Oh. Would....Would you like to play sometime?"

"Sure. You guys wouldn't mind Ritsu joining the next time we played, right?" I glanced at the others.

"Not at all!"

"No big deal."

"The more, the merrier!"

"Cool! Then, the next time we play, I'll be sure to let you know, Ritsu."

"Mm." The mean-looking boy actually looked really happy and I could understand why. Not too long ago and I was in his shoes.

~

"What happened to his wing?" I questioned while looking over Ritsu's shoulder.

"Sin? What're you doin' here?"

"Saw you sitting by yourself and came over. So, what happened to him?"

"I saw it fall from its nest the other day. I could tell it was hurt, so I took it to the vet. They said he'd be fine in no time." Ritsu explained and I sat next to him while looking at the bird in the whicker box. "Oh, didn't animals used to really like you?"

"They still do."

"Here, why don't you feed him?" Ritsu pulled out a small bag from his pocket. Holding out my hand, he dumped some birdfeed into my palm and the sparrow hopped right into my hands.

"You know....it's really nice of you to care for this little guy. A lot of people would have just left him." I said while gently petting the bird. "I'm glad to know you're still nice."

"N-Nice? You think so?"

"Yeah."

"Look out!" Honey called out before leaping into the air to kick a can of paint flying our way. My shoulder and arm got coated in paint that spilled out, and the sparrow flew away.

"He flew!" I grinned, watching the bird turn into a speck in the sky.

"He flew away."

"Sin! Are you okay? Only paint got you, right?" Honey turned with a worried look on his face and I nodded.

"Yeah, just paint. Thanks, Honey."

"Let go of me, you bastard!"

"Damn it! You big behemoth!"

"You're playing dirty, Kasanoda! First, you go and kidnap our gang boss's kid, and then make us deal with your damn musclebound lackies?!" Two guys were squirming as Mori easily held onto them, one in a headlock and the other with his arms behind his back. "We know you kidnapped the kid. Just give him back, now!"

"We've heard enough outta you! We'll shut you up!" The twins held up ropes, and I knew not to ask where they even got it from.

"What the Hell is goin' on here?"

"Don't you see? Takashi wasn't on anyone's bad side. These guys were after you. Until we caught them, we decided not to say anything to you because we didn't want you to have to mess with them."

"I can't believe it. So, you helped me? But....how come?"

"We can tell who the bad guys are by lookin' at 'em." Mori placed a hand onto Ritsu's head before looking at me. "You should go change, Sin. The paint got all over your uniform."

"Oh, right. I'll be going, then." Waving, I turned to leave the garden and headed inside. Going to the prep room, I clicked my tongue at the red paint on my clothes. Carefully undoing my tie, I tried to take the uniform off without getting the paint on me.

"Sin? Hey, you okay? I'm sorry-" Looking over my shoulder, I saw Ritsu standing in the doorway with wide eyes.

"I'm fine. You don't need to apologize, it wasn't your fault."

"You....You...."

"What? Just spit it out." I put my hands onto my hips while furrowing my brows.

"You're very muscular!" He yelled before slamming the door shut while his face looked like a tomato.

"Yeah....still a weirdo." Picking up my bag, I dug around the books and papers to find my back-up uniform. After a minute of looking, I paused as my face went blank. "Temari...." I groaned, remembering laundry day meant there would be no extra uniform.

Hearing voices from the next room, I opened the door and popped my head out. My brows furrowed, seeing Mori holding Ritsu to the wall by the front of his shirt.

"Oi, I forgot to pack an extra uniform. Either of you have one I can borrow?" I asked, and Mori dropped the redhead.

"There should be one in my locker."

"Okay, thanks, Mori." I gave a two-fingered salute before going back into the room. Going to the short row of lockers, I opened Mori's and saw the uniform right in front. Taking the top half of the uniform, I left the tie and pants in the locker.

Flipping the button-up over my shoulders, I slid my arms through only to see how big the shirt was on me. Sighing, I scrunched up the sleeves enough to expose my hands so that I could do the buttons. My nose twitched when I reached the collar buttons and I paused.

The shirt still had Mori's scent on it.

Feeling my ears burn, I shook my head.

"Fucking damn it." I grumbled under my breath while tucking in the shirt. Seeing how big the button up was on me, I didn't even bother with the blazer and put it back in the locker. Picking up my tie since it at least didn't have paint on it, I put it on, then rolled up the sleeves to my elbows. "Thanks again, Mori. I'll give the shirt back when it's clean." I said while exiting the prep room. "Oh, did Ritsu already leave?"

"He did." Mori looked at me with a stern expression while his hands were in his pockets.

"What?"

"You shouldn't be so carefree when people walk in on you."

"Why? I had my binder on. It actually covers more than a bra does."

"Does it really not bother you?"

"Why would it? It was an accident." I shrugged. "Ritsu actually looked more shocked to see I was muscular than he was seeing the binder." I scoffed. "It was kinda fun....ny." My voice trailed off due to the look on Mori's face as he now stood right in front of me.


	13. Confessions to Make

"What....What's that face for?"

"You need to be more careful."

"Oh, if you're worried about Ritsu, he's not gonna do anything. He's my friend. It's not like he's going to go blab to everyone that I'm trans."

"You're right, he's not." There was something about Mori's tone that made my brows furrow, something about how certain he sounded. Mori stepped back before turning to walk away. "Just be more careful."

_'Well,_ someone _is acting weirder than usual....'_ I thought while watching him leave in silence.

~

"I-I'd like to request....Sin." My ear twitched at the familiar voice, and I looked up to see Ritsu.

"You didn't have to come as a guest to see me, you know." I stated while sitting down some tea onto the table.

"O-Oh, right."

"Yeah, the host persona I have isn't how I normally act, too."

"Huh?"

"I'm the 'beast type' host. Sugar or honey for your tea?"

"S-Sugar. 'Beast type'?"

"It's cringy, in my opinion, but the girls like it."

"Wait, are you the beast type because of your face?"

"Sort of. But basically, the persona is....well.... It's actually hard to explain, really." Setting the teacup in front of Ritsu.

"What do you mean?"

"I can show you, but I'm serious when I say it's a bit embarrassing."

"O-Okay."

"I'm serious, Ritsu. And since we're being watched, I kinda have to keep up the persona."

"Yeah....I noticed the staring." He glanced around the room as I leaned my arm onto the back of the couch. Giving a short sigh through my nose, I then made Ritsu look at me with my fingers under his chin.

"I hope their staring doesn't bother you too much. They just can't help but notice how cute you're being."

"C-C-C-C-Cute?!"

"Oh, yes, my little lamb. And, must I say....this sweet side of you is absolutely _delicious_." I lowly growled while smirking and Ritsu completely froze. His eyes were wide before his entire face exploded red. He quickly averted his gaze while covering his mouth with his hand. "It's embarrassing, isn't it?" I whispered to the redhead while hearing squealing across the room.

Leaning back on the couch, I picked up my own tea to take a drink. The stares from these girls was like the heat of the sun bearing down on me.

"S-Sin, do you think....maybe....we could do this more o-often?" Ritsu picked up his tea with shaky hands as he talked. "Because I was just thinking, since you entertain girls all day long it might kind of give you a break from all that. You know, if I came around. I mean if-if you want that, that is."

"That's fine."

"Sin!"

"Hm?"

"I, uh, have something to say." Ritsu turned to me and I looked at him. "I just wanted to tell you....that I'm...." I quirked up a brow at the redhead since he didn't usually have such difficulty finding words, but before he could finish what he was saying, Mori plopped down on the couch right between us. The black-haired boy simply crossed his arms and sat back against the couch, but it seemed to cause an uproar among the girls.

"Mori?" His gaze drifted to me. His expression gave nothing away as to why he was sitting between Ritsu and I. Setting down my tea, I looked up at Mori. "Do you need something?"

"No."

"Then....?" I quirked up a brow as he continued to look at me, then glanced to Ritsu. If I didn't know any better, Mori was acting like he was jealous. Then again, what would he be jealous of? Was it because Ritsu was my friend from childhood?

"Morinozuka, I was trying to talk to Sin." Ritsu shifted in his seat.

"Then talk." Mori sounded like he was challenging Ritsu from the slight edge to his tone. ' _What the fuck is happening? I know_ something _is happening, but what?'_ I thought while trying to quickly think. The girls were watching like hawks even more so than before, and it actually felt tense around the couch we sat at.

"I....I...."

"Mori, Ritsu is here as a guest." I kept my voice low so only the boys sat next to me could hear. "Kyoya will have your ass if you're rude to him."

"Sin," Mori turned towards me while draping his arm along the couch behind me as he leaned down. "you really shouldn't curse as a Host." His other hand tilted up my chin as he locked eyes with me. "You'll get punished." I could feel my ears burning as squeals came from across the room.

~

"You wanna tell me what your deal was today, Mori?" I questioned while opening a bag of ginger snaps. Mori, Honey, and I were walking down an empty hall, headed home from the Host Club.

"Takashi."

"Huh?"

"Call me Takashi."

"Oh, I thought you only let Honey call you that since everyone else calls you Mori." I dug into the bag for a cookie. "So, wanna answer my question?"

"Oh, I forgot something back at the Club!" Honey turned on his heel. "You guys go on ahead, I'll catch up. Okay?" He grinned and waved before running back down the hall with Usa-chan bouncing under his arm.

"....I didn't have a 'deal' today."

"I'd say sitting between Ritsu and I is a having a 'deal'." I popped a ginger snap into my mouth, but Takashi stopped walking. Looking at him with a raised brow, he looked rather calm with his hands in his pockets.

"Do you like Kasanoda?"

"Yeah, he's my friend."

"I meant romantically."

"Why?"

"He's in love with you." Takashi stated with a serious tone, but I burst into laughter.

"You're kidding, right? Ritsu? In love with _me?_ Takashi, I'm a _guy_."

"You like guys, too." I paused.

"He's straight, though."

"He might not be. He could simply not be as open about his sexuality as you are. But he's definitely in love with you."

"Why are you telling me this if he is?"

"Because I wanted to know if you liked him back."

"Why, wanna play cupid?" I scoffed but paused at the look on Takashi's face.

"No." He stepped towards me and bent down to my height. "Because I'm in love with you, too." My eyes went wide as Takashi looked at me. Then he stood up to his full height while looking down at me. "The way I see it, he's your friend, but he's my rival."

"I'm sorry, did you just say you're...."

"In love with you. I did. I am."

"That's impossible."

"Why?"

"Because! You're _you_ , and I'm _me!_ " I waved my hand, but the pieces were falling into place now that I was looking at them again without strong denial. The blushes, the averted gazes, the help, the fucking strawberries. Shit, even seeing him holding Ritsu against the wall after he walked in on me changing. I thought he was just being friendly or shy this entire time, but no....Takashi _liked_ me.

"What's wrong with you being you?"

"Hello, do you not see me?" I gestured to myself. "I'm mean-looking, I look like a delinquent, I'm short-tempered, aggressive, I'm-"

"Kind. Caring. Sweet. Polite. Thoughtful. A little blunt and stubborn, and apparently really dense." Takashi added.

"Okay, but that doesn't make sense! There's no way you could-"

"Why not?"

"Don't you like cute and adorable? That's literally the _opposite_ of me."

"....Burgundy rose."

"What?"

"Burgundy rose. Renge had it right."

"What are you even talking about?"

"I think you're beautiful." Takashi stated and my face got warmer. "I think you're incredible. And I think you should try taking a look at yourself again if you can't see that."

"This has got to be a joke." My brows furrowed as my grip on the bag of cookies tightened. Takashi grabbed my jaw to lift my head before kissing me. It was only a few seconds on the lips, and he said nothing when he pulled away.

"I wouldn't lie to you, Sin." Takashi said as he was walking off, leaving me standing there in the hall with my face like a tomato.


	14. Ouran Fair

"Hey, you know, you've gotten pretty good at this."

"There's nothing to it, you should've practiced with me earlier."

"Well, just because we're twins doesn't make both of us good drivers."

"It's kinda neat having all of us together like this for a carriage ride, huh?" Honey grinned.

"Yeah. Right."

"Oh, and for the actual parade tomorrow, we'll all be in 18th-century French costumes. Your outfit will be especially opulent, Haruhi."

"Oh, wonderful." Haruhi sounded unamused, and the bell tower loudly chimed.

"Ah, the fair's opening ceremony has started." Tamaki smiled.

"Huh?"

"Let's make this fair the best one yet!"

"Sounds good to me."

"Now remember, as part of the fair, the Host Club will be open to parents and visitors for the next two days, which means we will need to be even more charming than usual. Let's get out there and show our honored guests the time of their lives!"

~

My head shot up when a loud smack rang out. Guests gasped and I stopped pushing the tea cart as my eyes went wide, watching Kyoya having to bend down to pick up his glasses from the ground.

"Is this how my son has been wasting his time?" I heard the man that had smacked Kyoya. "You are an embarrassment to the Ootori name." Kyoya's father wasn't even looking at him as he insulted him, then promptly walked away.

The handle of the cart bent in my grip before I let it go and stood in the man's way. I knew I had a mean look on my face from the expression he made.

"You need to apologize to Kyoya."

"I think you should stay out of private matters that are of no concern to you."

"Your 'private' became public the moment you hit Kyoya in front of everyone." My lip twitched up into a snarl as my hands balled into fists at my sides. Suddenly, a hand grabbed my head and made me bow.

"My apologies. The Nashi heir can be a bit brash at times." It was Kyoya, bowing right next to me, and it only angered me more that _he_ was the one apologizing. Although, the man seemed to slightly tense when Kyoya said Nashi. He didn't say a word before walking away. "I wish you hadn't done that, Sin."

"He literally just smacked you, what did you expect me to do?"

"I was hoping you would mind your own business." He said coldly while shooting me a look from the corner of his eye.

"You should know by now that I don't do that when my friends are involved." I shot back without hesitation.

~

"I have an announcement to make. As of today, Lady Eclair Tonnerre and I are officially engaged. Furthermore, the Host Club will be permanently dissolved after the Ouran Fair." Tamaki's expression was void of emotion as he stood next to the blue-eyed brunette. "That is all."

I took a step forward while baring my teeth, knowing damn well Tamaki wouldn't freely make that decision on his own. I opened my mouth to say something, but an arm held out in front of me stopped me.

~

"Kyoya, what's with this outfit?" Haruhi questioned.

"We told you, it's a costume for the special parade." The twins answered since Kyoya was trying to make a phone call.

"You look so cute, Haru!"

"I don't understand. Why am I the only person dressed as a girl?"

"Aw, come on, it's cosplay, so it's okay for you to dress like a girl."

"I am one, you know." Haruhi sighed.

"Well?"

"No luck. He's not there." Kyoya replied before closing his phone.

"Huh?"

"I can't believe Senpai didn't show. I really thought he was gonna make it, despite what she said." Haruhi looked sad and Kyoya made another phone call.

"Evidently, Tamaki is planning to return to France."

"Tama is going to leave us?!"

"You kidding me?! We just can't let it end so suddenly!"

"Hikaru."

"Tamaki?!" Kyoya's gaze shot to outside the window.

"Tama!" He was going by in a red convertible, and even from where we stood I could see he wasn't happy.

"No way!" "The Ouran fair isn't over yet!"

"My family's car should be in the parking lot! Haruhi, let's go!"

~

"We're in a hurry, can you drive us?"

"I'm sorry Kyoya-sama, but...."

"What is it? What's wrong?"

"Well, you see, the thing is...." We turned as boots hit the floor. On nearly all sides of us were the Ootori police force.

"You want to tell me your orders? Let me guess. You've been hired to protect Lady Eclair."

"I'm truly sorry it has come to this, but as you know, as members of the Ootori private police, we answer to your father."

"Damn it!" Kyoya cursed while slamming his fist onto the hood of the car.

"I'm terribly sorry, sir, but we've been ordered not to allow any of you to leave, even if we have to stop you by force."

"Well, shit." I sighed while rubbing the back of my neck and stepping forward. "Then I really wish I wasn't wearing these ridiculous clothes."

"Sin?"

"Let's fuckin' do this, bitches. I'm already not in a good mood." I glared while facing the police and took a fighting stance.

"Sin, language." Haruhi pointed. Then the sound of hooves and huffing horses came barreling closer before the carriage broke through the line of police.

"Hikaru, take the carriage. If you use the back hills bypass, you can cut them off." I heard Takashi say as Honey landed right next to me with a serious look on his face.

"It's Haninozuka!" Officers gasped.

"And Morinozuka!" They sounded terrified as the two boys were flanking me.

"Oh, I see how it is." I grumbled.

"Ha!" The carriage took off behind us.

"Don't just stand there! Stop that carriage-" Honey cut the officer off by kicking him.

"Takashi. Sin. Don't go easy on 'em!"

"Don't worry, I won't." The three of us parted, Honey going to the right, Takashi to the left, and I went right down the middle. I was finally putting my training to use, and it felt....natural. How easily the power ran through my veins as my fists broke through helmets.

I knew I was strong, but to have that strength focused into precise strikes was so different than just wildly going all over the place. I understood it now, too. I understood why my father was so eager to teach me, why my mother was so pleased to know I wanted to learn.

I was being forged from a lump of metal into a strong blade.

"I warned you guys! Picking on my friends is a big no-no!" Honey pointed at the pile of groaning and unconscious officers.

"You shouldn't underestimate the Ouran Host Club." Kyoya added. Now, I wasn't sure if it was from the thrill of the fight, or the adrenalin still rushing through my veins, but I turned and grabbed the front of Takashi's shirt. Yanking him down to my level, I kissed him.

"I hope you meant everything you told me." I said while looking over his surprised expression. My gaze drifted to the side when I heard a small pop and saw confetti.

"Congratulations!"

"....Honey, how long have you had that popper in your pocket?"

"A while!"

~

Dancing with Haruhi as the lamp posts and lanterns lit the area, I smiled at her.

"Tamaki's glaring at me."

"He can wait his turn." She chuckled, and I spun her, causing her dress to flare out like a flower.

"Am I that good of a dancer?"

"Actually, yes. You have an easy rhythym to follow." Haruhi then gave me a look as we went over the cobblestone in circles.

"What?"

"I heard about you and Mori kissing. Are you two a couple now?"

"Honey told you, didn't he?" I softly laughed, and she shook her head.

"The twins. Though, Honey may have told them. I think you two would be good together."

"How do you mean?"

"Mm, like puzzle pieces. It just fits. You both compliment each other."

"Ah- Tamaki's coming." I twirled Haruhi while snickering and she was going right towards the blond until Kyoya swooped in and swept her away. I laughed until I felt hands on me, pulling me back into the rhythym of a brisk waltz. "Takashi?"

"Mm."

"Are you sure you're okay dancing with a guy in public?"

"It's fine." He softly smiled, and as if on cue, I heard squeals. Takashi dipped me and the girls got louder. However, I could see them now and they practically had hearts for eyes. "See? There's no issue."

"....There actually is." I said while standing up all of the way. "I need to talk to you about something."

"What's wrong?"

"Uh, not here. When the fireworks are going off, meet me in the club room, okay?"

"....Okay."

~

Quietly sitting on the window sill, I watched the crowd below dancing until their gazes went skyward. I looked as well, seeing the colorful dandelion shapes filling the sky. The only light in the room came from the windows, and I was clenching and unclenching my hand while thinking.

"What did you want to talk about?" I heard Takashi ask from a few feet away. I swallowed before turning to him.

"Did you mean it when you said you were in love with me?"

"Yes."

"Would you still love me if I was a monster?"

"Sin, you're not-"

"Please, just answer the question." I turned to face him while placing my feet onto the floor as colorful lights flashed through the windows. He looked at me with slightly furrowed brows, no doubt confused by how serious I was being.

"I would."

"Do you honestly believe that?"

"I do." Closing my eyes for a second, I took in a deep breath before sighing.

"I want to show you something. This is really why I went into homeschooling." I pulled off my shoes and socks, setting them to the side before I stood. "Why I act weird at times. Why I missed Halloween." I tugged off the ridiculous costume shirt, now only standing there in the puffed out pants and my binder.

The room briefly lit with a flash of red light before dulling to a soft glow. Running my clawed fingers through my hair, I put out the low fire as Takashi's eyes widened at me.

"This is why, despite hundreds of years passing, the Nashi family remains successful blacksmiths." I looked at my hand as fire danced in my palm and my other hand was fisted at my side. "I'm a forge demon. Those that carry the demon blood have the red eyes while their hair comes in shades of red or orange." My tone was low as I closed my hand and put out the flame before looking at Takashi.

"Also, I guess now you also know why Dad and I kept butting heads while you and Honey were visiting." I said, referring to the curling horns sprouting from my forehead that ended just at my cheekbones. Takashi put one hand on his hip while using the other one to rub his eyes.

When he looked at me again, he blinked a few times. It was so quiet that I heard my claws click against the floor when I shifted my weight on my feet. Well....he didn't look like he was freaking out....yet.

"I must be asleep." Takashi grumbled.

"You're not. Though, I'm actually breaking some pretty serious rules exposing this to you." I said while gesturing to myself. "But I couldn't continue a relationship with you while hiding this from you."

"There's no way this is real." Swallowing, I walked over to Takashi before gently grabbing the hand on his hip. I then slowly dug my claws into his palm, making him jolt. His eyes went wide again and he stumbled back into a table. "It's real."

"Yeah, it's real." I dropped my hands at my sides as my tail swayed. "You wondered how I could knock out people with a single hit and no training, well, this is why. I eat so much to fuel the metabolism my body has, and one of the reasons I like commoner's snacks so much is because they're delicious and high in calories." Rubbing the back of my neck while dropping my gaze to the floor, I scoffed. "It's kind of funny how you guys keep calling me the 'beast type' without knowing just how fucking accurate that is."

I tilted my head since he wasn't saying anything, and I could feel regret and dread flooding my veins as Takashi looked at me.

"Could you....say something? I can't tell if you're terrified or just in shock."

"....Shock." He swallowed. "It's shocking." My ears perked as I raised my gaze.

"You're not scared?"

"You're still you, right?"

"Yeah."

"Then, no."

"Wait, seriously?"

"Yeah. You wouldn't hurt me, right?"

"No, never!"

"Then why would I be scared?"

"....I really want to give you a hug right now." I said bluntly and Takashi slightly raised his brows at me but held out his arms anyway.

"A lot of stuff makes more sense now." He muttered while hugging me, and I could feel my heart beating quickly from both excitement and joy.

"You can't tell anyone about this, though."

"I wouldn't." Takashi said, having a sincere tone.


End file.
